Fealty
by BlueGreenApples
Summary: Cannon. SasuSaku. Sasuke was staring at the white walls around him trying not to loose his mind. Rated for strong language and violence.
1. Argent

**Fealty**

_I dreamt of a fever, one that would cure me of this cold, winter-set heart_

Sasuke was staring at the white walls around him trying not to loose his mind. Bright, fluorescent light washed out every color from the space until he began to doubt his own existence. He was sheltering himself deep within his mind, in corners long forgotten but not yet lost. After all, he knew this was just another one of Orochimaru's twisted tests designed to push him into mania.

He was beginning to doubt that the white reality outside was worse than the darkness in his head.

Now he's trying to find things to fill the abyssal space that dominates his hiding place. He's not surprised when nothing but muscle memory tingles through his body as nightmares begin to play behind his eyelids.

Something like desperation overtakes him as he struggles in the vastness inside himself for times past. Anything from when his world still contained light. A feverish kind of humor rises in his throat when he realizes that he's secluding himself from the brightness of the room only to seek something like it in his mind.

He doesn't have to search for long. From his mind's eye, a pair of green eyes are staring back at him with an intensity that he cannot fathom, haunting and comforting until he doesn't know what to call the emotion. Sasuke wondered caustically what the girl he'd shunned would think if she knew she was the only thing keeping him sane in this hellhole. And then he wonders if maybe the heat of her will burn away the frozen wasteland that he's trapped himself inside.

He's not sure why it doesn't surprise him that no other person from his past rushes forward to fill up his empty, aching head. All he sees is her. She's laughing. She's smiling. She's dancing. She's feeling until she glows with her emotions, she's living and loving. She's so vivid he thinks for a moment he can feel her on his skin.

The Sakura in his memories is a million things at once. Everything she feels plays across her pale, innocent face. He knows now that he was selfish and self-deluding when he rejected her time and again.

A feeling that he refuses to call regret wells up inside him at visions of what could have been. Now he's sure that the blackness of his mind is worse than the blinding white insanity of the room his sitting inside. At least there he doesn't have to face himself.

So Sasuke opens his eyes to the torture chamber, resigning himself to whatever shreds of his sanity he'll be able to retain.

_I burn with reasons as to carry on _

But even as the blankness burns itself onto his retinas, he knows he won't ever completely loose his grip. He's an avenger. He stands for something larger than himself, a goal that he cannot--will not die without accomplishing. Blood will be spilt before he can rest.

Itachi would die screaming, pleading and sorry for what he'd done.

As a beryl gaze invades his thoughts again he fleetingly lets himself hope that maybe, just maybe he'll survive his fight. Perhaps he'll return to Konoha then, just to see her eyes one more time.

Sasuke refuses to decide which thought urges him on more.

He cannot tell how much time has passed since he woke up in this room. But he continues to alternate between fighting the insanity around him and secluding into himself, to dreams of her.

It's the second day or maybe the third when a particularly crisp memory leads him to murmur a soft, "Sakura."

It's almost as if a switch was flipped and the room around him melts slowly back to the living quarters he's accustomed to, complete with a door.

He's too mentally exhausted to be suspicious as he prowls from the room with every intention to kill something.

Orochimaru greets him with his standard nightmarish grin. The list of assassinations that is handed to him paints a smirk of his own across his stoic lips.

_Into these twisted months I plunge without a light to follow_

Remorse was something Sasuke liked to think he left at the gates of his forsaken hometown. He hoped it laid rusting and wasting away along with sympathy and pity on the forest floor. He could not have been more wrong.

Orochimaru's hit list consisted of four names.

The first two were the normal fare: an overly ambitious local village elder who thought he could double-cross the Sannin and a former Sound-nin who'd had a change of heart and was running home to his Village.

A vicious horizontal swing had ended the elder before he'd even registered Sasuke's presence. After all, he is efficient. Succinct. He does not find the pleasure his fellow nukenin seem to in prolonging the deaths of his prey. They are mere means to an end, a conduit by which he will become stronger.

He doesn't care to analyze rather or not his dehumanization is worse than their total disregard. It is a pointless endeavor. He knows the even if he does reach a conclusion, it would serve him no purpose.

The second, the missing-nin, presented a paltry resistance. His panic was his end. A sloppy jutsu was easy (_oh so easy_) to turn back to its creator. In the end the fool died by his own hand.

As he cleaned his katana, Sasuke to himself reaffirmed that he would kill the Snake Sannin, it would not be beneficial to have to dispatch Sound-nin after Sound-nin when he set out in search of Itachi. That might slow him down.

It is the third mark that begins to make Sasuke suspicious.

The corrupt merchant, who'd been suspected of slighting Orochimaru's imports, was almost as easy to execute as the elder. As the man fell, gasping and clutching his gaping throat, he turned glazing eyes up to stare into Sasuke's. His frenzied second swipe sent the corpse's head rolling away, familiar green gaze still wide open.

The image of bloody red and emerald green shadows Sasuke for the entire week between the incident and his arrival at his next assignment.

A retired Jounin is the final mission objective. His homestead borders the Sound Country, and Kabuto seems convinced that the former-nin is a spy. Sasuke does not question orders, but the excuse seems thin even to his minimal scrutiny.

The Uchiha arrives at the humble cottage at sunset and moves in quietly and quickly. He steps silently over a row of herbs as he skirts his way through the garden at the back of the structure. Once he is in range, he centers himself and studies the chakra signatures within. When he picks up only a weak, civilian reading, he is almost ready to settle back into the forest to wait. But it occurs to him that a Jounin would or should be fully capable of masking his own energy. Determination floods his features as he calculates and forms a plan.

A quick check of the nearest window reveals it to be unlocked and he slips in without a sound. Pushing chakra into the soles of his sandals, he perches himself onto the ceiling and works his way from the bedroom into the living room. His dark eyes scan the surroundings and he is confused when he notes no traces whatsoever of any notable chakra-levels. If a Jounin lived here, even a retired one, he would leave a residual pattern on the space. He is turning to leave when he glimpses a sight that brings his mind screeching to a halt.

A short, feminine figure is toddling around in the kitchen, preparing dinner. Her hair is caught in a careless, clumsy braid. Long, distinctly _pink _hair.

Sasuke has advanced before he even knows what he is doing. The sound of his feet hitting the floor as he drops from the ceiling startles her into turning. His heart stops at the sight of her front.

The woman is heavily pregnant.

Her terrified scream draws his attention to her face.

Hazel brown eyes stare back at him.

Sasuke stumbles backward, out of the cabin and sets off into the surrounding trees at a run.

As he flees, all he can see are green, green eyes and long pink hair.

_So I drink to stay warm and to kill selected memories, cause I just can't think anymore about that or about her tonight_

The bar he's sitting in is hardly more than a hovel. It's drafty and dirty and stinking but the booze are strong enough that he doesn't care.

He just wants to drink himself blind.

Wants to--has to forget the sight of dying eyes the same shade of hers. In his nightmares he knows it will be her face staring back at him, gurgling and drowning in her own blood. That it will be her pretty head rolling to a stop at his feet and it utterly fucking _terrifies _him.

He knows that the alcohol is taking affect when he sees the woman in his mind's eye. So blatantly with child. So vulnerable. It's haunting him that he doesn't know what Sakura is like now. Years have passed and she was always beautiful. Had she married? Did she have children of her own?

Glazed eyes watch listlessly as the glass in his hand shatters. His grip doesn't slacken as the broken pieces dig into his palm. The callouses there are too thick to be pierced so easily, anyway.

At the first sign of blood, he drops the remnants to the bar as he relishes the stinging burn of the drink dripping into the wounds. With increasing clarity, he realizes that years of training are sharpening his mind with the onslaught of pain, so he wipes his hand carelessly on his shirt and motions for another round.

His thoughts are barely lucid when he allows himself to fantasize.

Light is pouring in from somewhere to her left and he sees her smiling face shining up at him as she rubs her midsection. Green eyes are full of devotion and her belly is swollen with his--their child. An Uchiha fan is stitched onto the breast of her oversized clothing and he can almost make out the sound of little feet on the hardwood of his ancestral home. And she's _so gods-damned gorgeous_ like that that he can hardly stand it.

He always thought that when (_**if**__ he forces himself to think_) he ever went back to Konoha he'd marry a nameless face and settle into a loveless marriage, leaving Sakura to someone who deserved her. Now he knows he can't. Won't.

A bitter smile slashes across his face as he takes another drink.

_Cause I swear that I'm dying, slowly but it's happening_

A week or so later, Sasuke returns to Hidden Sound.

Orochimaru is angry when he does not come to report the success of his mission upon arrival, but Sasuke frankly can't bring himself to care.

The way he looks at it, it's pretty fair that he doesn't follow protocol for what he's sure now was a mind-fuck of a mission in the first place.

When he tells the Sannin so, all the old man does is smile and laugh that hollow creeping sound.

Sasuke is back in the white room before he can blink. The experience is completely different now. Thoughts come to his mind without his provocation, swirling there until he's nearly ill with the confusion and anger and desperation of it all.

This time around, it's nightmares of her terror and bright blood interspersed with gut-wrenching pipe dreams of a life he wants but knows he cannot have. He's sure he'll loose it now, avenger or no.

Soon enough he decides to use his chakra to force his system into keeping him awake, running his vital organs on his reserves of energy. The technique is regarded widely as a last resort, but Sasuke once again just doesn't give a shit.

He can only see her die so many times and in so many ways before he's sure to crack and fly apart at the seams.

By the third day he's floating in a strange realm between sleeping and waking, reliving every time he ever insulted Sakura. Made her cry. He's shamed at just how long the vision goes on. His agonized mind is filled with her crying eyes, wails and dying gasps.

When the fifth day comes around, he finally succumbs to exhaustion and his eyes roll back into his head.

He doesn't feel the Curse Seal pulsing to life on his skin, doesn't know that the creeping sickness methodically is searching his subconscious until it finds what it wants.

The directions to Konoha.

_If the perfect spring is waiting somewhere, just take me there..._

**This is the first chapter of a four to five part fic. Some reviewers requested Cannon work, others a chaptered fic. So, I combined the two:3 Thank you for reading and please review.**

**Notes:**

**The lyrics in this chapter are from the song **_**If Winter Ends **_**by Bright Eyes. I in no way own them. At all. **


	2. Ochre

**Ochre**

_I see your shadow on the street now_

Sasuke woke to find his body in the first level of the Curse Seal. The more aggressive half of his brain had taken control along with the spread of the inky marks and his consciousness was trapped, watching as the scenery whipped by. Night had fallen around him, but the passage of days meant little to him. He was unsure how long he'd spent in the white room, anyway.

As the height and width of the trees began to grow to monstrous size, he realized with a sinking certainty that he was in Fire Country. The gates of Konoha were fast approaching.

His rational mind could only hope that his more impulsive nature would be wise enough not to kill any Leaf-nin. If it did, he'd most likely be put to death upon his return to Konoha. Last Uchiha or no. As it stood now, he'd done nothing to directly injure or impede his home Village other than go missing-nin.

He still clung to the fragile hope that he would one day return to Konoha and rebuild his Clan. An image of the pregnant Sakura he'd created floated into focus.

He could only wait and watch as the Curse decided his future.

_I hear you push through the rusty gate_

The generally bustling streets of Konoha were full to bursting. Brightly colored paper lanterns were strewn everywhere and citizens and ninja alike paraded in elaborate kimono. Excitement and music filled the air as the festival hit full swing around midnight.

Team Seven was clustered around a booth, watching as Naruto ate festive pastry after festive pastry. Sai's dry humor made Sakura laugh until her cheeks burned red and Kakashi lounged against a nearby wall, explicit book in hand. His smirk at his team's antics was not quite concealed by his dark mask.

The night waned on and Sakura danced with her teammates and sensei as well as a few males courageous enough to brave the protectiveness of her precious people to ask for company. As she spun across the lantern-lit dancefloor, the often stressed medic-nin allowed herself to relax and enjoy the joyous atmosphere.

By two o'clock A.M. Sakura returned to her team to let them know that she was heading home. At Naruto's loud protests, she calmly explained that she had the early shift at the hospital the next day. Once the partially inebriated blond came to terms with her leaving, he tried to insist that he walk her to her apartment.

A few scathing remarks quelled that attempt. After all, Sakura would be taking her Jounin exams along with Naruto and Sai next month. She could more than look after herself. Honestly, she hadn't even had anything to drink.

As she made her way home and away from the center of the village, the sounds of the festival steadily dimmed. Soon she was pacing her way down an empty street, thinking quietly to herself about the upcoming day. The only sound was the click of her traditional sandals on the pavement.

She was so concentrated on her thoughts, she nearly passed her doorstep. Chuckling a little at her own foolishness, Sakura fished around in her obi for the small pocket she'd sewn in to hold her key. When her fingers found the little pouch, she slipped the key out and unlocked her door.

Pausing for a moment to toe off her lacquered geta, Sakura padded softly through her foyer and into the kitchen, switching on the lights.

_Click of your heels on the concrete_

She bustled around the small space, filling a kettle with water and setting it on to boil. As the water warmed, she stood on tiptoe to grab a box of teabags from the shelf above the stove. Setting it on the counter, she picked out a cup and saucer then headed to the living room to sit and wait.

Humming one of the songs she'd danced to softly to herself, Sakura wriggled her toes into the soft carpet of her front room. Just as she reached her couch, she noticed that one of her picture frames had toppled. The fallen display seemed sorely out of place in the neat little row of memories.

Frowning, she walked cautiously over to the sidetable against the wall beneath the window. She skimmed her fingertips slowly over the wooden surface until she reached the frame. Working her fingers under it, she slowly righted it.

A slightly faded picture of Team Seven starred back at her from behind the cracked glass.

In a flash of movement, she drew a folded windmill shuriken from her obi. As she spun to face the ceiling above her front door, she flicked her wrist. The steel blades of the circular weapon snapped into place.

_I know there's something in the air_

A low chuckle sounded from the shadowy space. Red eyes watched the little female settle into a defensive stance, holding the weapon horizontally behind her and extending the other to her side. She was ready to fling the bladed wheel at any moment.

Dropping silently to the floor, Sasuke's cursed form watched with sinister amusement as the pinkette's blank face disappeared. Mixed shock and fear replaced it instead.

Seal-infected skin slid back to reveal sharp canines as he hissed, "Miss me?"

Before she could respond, he moved with unreal speed to knock the weapon from her hand and pin her to the sidetable behind her. As he pressed tightly against her front, he twisted her right arm behind her to trap it between her body and the wooden furniture. This left both his hands free to knot the first in her elaborate hair and the other to catch her left wrist in a bruising grip.

Green eyes, the ones he couldn't get out of his head, glare up at him. "Uchiha."

The man-possessed threw his head back and laughed. Tilting his face down to hover uncomfortably close to hers, he asked, "What? No Sasuke-kun?"

Anger rushed over Sakura's pale features. She spat, "No. No Sasuke-kun. He's dead."

Glee filled the beast's ink-blotched face. "You're right. He is."

At the reluctant fear that bled into her expression, he grinned. Rather than say more, he adjusted his hold on her wrist. He pulled it so that it was level with his face.

Sakura watched with confusion as he pressed his thumb into her palm, forcing her fingers to splay wide.

He studied each finger in turn until he reached her fourth finger. Her ring finger.

Something strange filled his features as he released her hair from his grip to pull the ring there less-than-gently from her finger. 

Sasuke turned the emerald and silver band over in his hand. Locking his red eyes with Sakura's he asked mockingly, "Promised to someone?"

The kunoichi just glared defiantly back at him, saying nothing.

Snarling, he swept down to look directly into her face. "It doesn't matter." He slammed his lips against hers, forcing his tongue past her lips and against her gritted teeth. When she refused to open her mouth to his seeking, he pressed his thumb into the henge of her jaw until she gasped in pain. He surged into her cavern, slithering over every surface before drawing back.

_How can I do this to you right now?_

He peered thorough half-lidded eyes at the darkly erotic picture she made. Her pink lips were kiss swollen and a thin line of blood trickled from one corner from his rough handling. The once pristine style of her hair had come loose and was spilling unevenly over her shoulders. Moist beryl eyes glowered at him resentfully.

Licking his lips crudely, he rasped, "You're as sweet as you look."

At her disgusted look, he laughed. For the first time since he'd arrived, he spoke her name.

"_Sakura_."

He dragged the syllables out, almost teasing in his manner.

Sure that he had her attention, he activated his Sharingan, rendering her unconscious. Catching her before she slumped to the ground, he tossed her onto his shoulder.

He flipped his deft fingers through a series of seals, activating a henge. In a flash of smoke, the image of Naruto stood with Sakura draped over his shoulder.

Without another moment's hesitation, the disguised Sound-nin walked calmly through the front door and toward the Konoha Gates.

_If it ever starts sinking in_

Sakura woke later to find her world inverted. Foggy memories of the festival, walking home and preparing her usual evening tea slipped into her confused mind.

Then she saw the cracked picture frame and blood red eyes.

Sasuke.

Holding as still as possible, she assessed the situation. As far as she could tell, she was on the nukenin's back, being carried to an unknown location. Most likely Sound.

Her green eyes sharpened as she planned out what she would do next. She drew in a slow breath and regulated her chakra to conceal the fact she was awake.

Sasuke's sudden appearance had stunned her at her apartment, but now she was ready. Tsunade's training was whirling in her mind as she settled on a plan.

Gathering a little chakra into the first two fingers of her right hand, she jabbed them into his spine before he could register her movement. The blow rendered his right arm completely useless.

As she pulled her hand back, ready to do the same to the other side, Sasuke stopped abruptly. She was tossed from him as her momentum continued forward.

Twisting her body mid-fall, Sakura landed agilely on her feet. As she raised her head, she came face to face with Sasuke in the second level of the curse.

_It seems an age since I've seen you_

Enormous purplish grey hands reached from his back and a black slash ran across the bridge of his nose. His once dark hair was now a glaring white that contrasted with his deeper complexion and spilled in sharp formations down his bare back. A low growl tumbled from his lips as he looked from his limp arm to the medic-nin.

Shoving the belled sleeve of her kimono up her arm, Sakura revealed a delicately twisting seal tattooed onto her wrist. Smearing a line of blood over the mark, she drew the resulting senbon with a slow smile. He'd been gone too long if he thought she was going anywhere she didn't want to without one hell of a fight.

A roar echoed through the forest around them as both opponents shoved off the earth with enough force to rip open the ground they'd been standing on. In a flurry of metal, the pinkette released a rain of needles. Each was on a direct course for vital points of her combatant's body.

Drawing his katana in his remaining hand, Sasuke spun his blade in a tight circle. Most senbon were neutralized entirely, the ones remaining thrown off course. As four or five impacted and sank into his skin, he turned red eyes toward his former teammate. She'd grown stronger, then. A sick smirk lit his face. Maybe now she'd pose a challenge.

Sakura watched with no real surprise as her first barrage was defeated. Regrouping, she kicked off a tree trunk and swung up into its higher branches to wait.

As he landed under the tree Sakura had retreated to, the man-possessed watched, amused as the kunoichi flipped out of his sight. Adjusting his grip on the hilt of his blade, he called in the same sing-song voice as before, "_Sakura_...Come out and play."

He didn't have to wait long. With a chorus of snapping branches and rushing wind, a fuuma shuriken ripped down from her perch.

Dancing aside just in time, he watched as the enormous weapon carved into the forest floor. His eyes narrowed. "Now where did you get that?"

The fluttering of paper was heard as a spent summoning seal floated down from the canopy. Sasuke watched the long scroll with something like grudging admiration. He hadn't noticed that on her earlier.

Taking advantage of the diversion, Sakura body flickered and reappeared behind her opponent. As she drove a chakra-loaded fist into the joint that attached his wing to his back, she trilled, "I'm just full of new tricks."

Sasuke lurched forward with the blow, grimacing as he felt the bone snap. Whipping around to face her, he brought his sword up in a brutal upswing.

Unprepared for his quick recovery, Sakura couldn't avoid the entire swipe. A rip sounded as the blade bit through the silk encasing her left leg, leaving a deep gash that ran from knee to almost her ankle.

A wordless shout of pain and anger was torn from her lips as she staggered back. Blood gushed from the serious wound as she forced the injured limb to move.

Sasuke grinned. Even if she could heal that, it would use up a considerable amount of her chakra. Muscle damage was difficult to repair, and he'd nearly lamed her calf.

_I hope that time hasn't changed you_

Green light pooled in the cut, glowing bright for a moment before fading. As she settled her weight back onto her leg, Sakura tore the ruined silk away. It only hindered her movement at this point. Now the once splendid kimono only fell to a little above her knees and was blood-soaked at the hem.

Returning her gaze to the nukenin, Sakura reached placidly behind her, tugging the windmill shuriken free of its landing place. She worked her wrist, building up momentum and spinning the circular weapon until it resembled a solid disk. With a shrill battlecry, she flung the bladed fan with all her monstrous strength.

Sasuke's red eyes flashed as he leaped clear of the fuuma shuriken only to catch the chakra-loaded fist of the kage buushin attacking from his left. Calmly snapping the doppelganger's neck, he grasped the fist of his true opponent as she descended on him from above.

He jerked savagely, driving her into the forest floor without mercy. The fist in his hand turned strangely as her arm popped from its socket and her body smashed into the unrelenting ground.

Sakura choked on a wail as her arm bent sickeningly at her shoulder. Before she could recover from that pain, her captor began to squeeze the hand in his grasp. This time she couldn't bite back the scream that rose from her as her fingers snapped, one by one.

Tightening his grip until the thin bones of her hand began to creak with strain, Sasuke quipped, "You aren't going to cry, are you Sakura?"

A crunch sounded as he applied even more pressure. He tisked and mocked, "I thought you'd gotten stronger." He lowered his voice to a harsh whisper, "But you're just the same weak little girl."

Sakura screamed as she kicked out viciously, impacting his knee and ripping her hand free of his grasp. His loud curse was cut off as she swung her good fist into his jaw, sending him flying.

_You're over there when I need you here_

Clutching her shattered hand and wrist to her waist, Sakura stumbled after Sasuke. She was breathing raggedly through her teeth when she reached him, collapsed inside a half-felled tree. A proud feeling welled up in her chest when she counted four trees that he'd passed completely through to get there.

Raising one tabi-cover foot and setting it onto his chest, she pushed until he opened his eyes to look at her. Tears of pain coursed down her dirty face as she spat, "I'm not weak anymore, you _bastard_."

Red eyes bored into her green ones before he blurred and disappeared from her sight. A sharp tug at her elbow-length hair wretched her head back to see his face snarling down at her from behind. Sliding his hand from her head to her neck, he began to cut off her air supply.

Sakura closed her eyes and let herself collapse back into his bare chest, her head lolling onto his shoulder. As her eyes began to loose focus, she squinted to see the ugly black ring that was the Curse Seal only inches from her face. Half-delirious with pain and lack of oxygen, she pressed her lips against it.

Red eyes widened as the seal's power began to recede. Soon, Sasuke's rational mind took control and was left with the battered form of his former teammate draped over his chest.

Releasing her throat, he cursed. "_Fuck_."

His mind spun with possible solutions. He had to get Sakura back to the Village_. Now_. Scooping her limp body up into his arms, he prepared to set off the way he'd come.

Before he could push off, several forms clad in white and purple dropped from the surrounding trees. Sound-nin.

Pulling her closer to his chest, he realized it was too late. Sakura was coming to Sound with him.

_All I really want is for you to stay..._

**This is the second installment of this four to five chaptered fic. It's beginning to look like it's going to be longer than that though. Typical BGA, I'm so wordy:3**

**As always, thank you for reading and please review! **

**Note: lyrics from **_My Happiness __**by Powderfinger **_ NOT MINE


	3. Onyx

**Onyx**

_I can't escape this hell_

Sasuke was pacing. Back and forth, back and forth from one end of his bedroom to the other. His curse seal had receded with Sakura's kiss, but only anger and anxiety had taken its place. Casting another glance to the diminutive form on the bed, he sank back into his thoughts.

He had to get her out of Sound as soon as physically possible. She wouldn't survive for five minutes here without his presence. His intimidating reputation was enough to fend off the other nukenin while he was within the Village, but the moment he left on a mission she would be vulnerable. Thinking back to their fight in the forest, he predicted that she may be able to hold her own against two or perhaps three opponents, but more would overtake her easily. The Sound-nin would be more than willing to fight dirty, and Sakura would never be able to handle it. Thinking of his fellow elite-nin that Orochimaru had do his personal dirtywork, Sasuke grimly noted that the Leaf kunoichi wouldn't stand a chance if one of them decided to attack her.

Breaking his pacing pattern, he veered sharply to stand over the small body curled on his bed. As he looked down at the pale girl in a bloodied kimono, he decided he needed to gather a few things for her stay. How ever long it would be. Stopping his hand just short of smoothing her tangled hair where it lay sprawled against the stark white sheets, he stepped back and disappeared through the shouji.

_So many times I've tried_

At the muffled _click _of the paper screen sliding shut, green eyes blinked open. A low groan rose from Sakura as she wearily stretched, careful not to move her right arm from the wrist down. Quickly assessing her surroundings and injuries, she came to two conclusions: she was alone in a foreign room and her hand was partially healed.

Sakura disregarded the room situation for the time being, she was in no immediate danger and she had a good idea who it belonged to anyway. Instead, she sat up and turned her attention to her recently crippled hand. The ache in her shoulder told her it had been relocated satisfactorily, but the condition of her hand left a few more questions. A surge of chakra confirmed that the numerous breaks and fractures had been set and accelerated, which was normal enough. The epidermal lesion from a compound fracture at her wrist was left open and was still sluggishly weeping. A slightly disgusted look flitted across her features as she observed the patch of bright blood on the bed where her hand and lain. Even if she was a med-nin, she didn't have to like seeing rusty, coagulating blood.

Deciding she would clean up after her self momentarily, Sakura went about taking inventory of her chakra levels. The fight with Sasuke and her body's natural instinct to direct the energy toward regenerating lost blood left her with well under half of her usual supply. Sighing and reminding herself that she was most likely in enemy territory, she decided that it was best to close the gash and leave the rest to her body. It was better than leaving a trail everywhere she went and less chakra-demanding than a full heal. As the green fog of her healing ability coated her un-injured hand, she carefully 'stiched' the two sides together and let the rest of the summoned energy meld back into her system.

Inspecting her skin, the pinkette noticed despairingly that her permanent seal had been disrupted by the lesion. Raised, still new-pink skin ran in a diagonal slash from the center of the seal at the middle of her forearm, all the way up to the first knuckle of her thumb on the top of her hand. She frowned. That sort of impediment was nearly worse than her low chakra reserves. The seals provided an easy source of weaponry while she was a captive. She needed to restore the lines to make the summoning process possible again.

_But I'm still caged inside_

When Sasuke stepped back into his room thirty minutes later, he wasn't surprised by the fact that Sakura was bleeding. The gash on her arm had still been unhealed when he left, so the metallic smell wasn't shocking. However, a glance to the girl sitting at his desk told him that her battle wound had been taken care of and the bleeding she was doing now was self-inflicted.

Dropping his parcel and flash-stepping to stay her hand, Sasuke asked lowly, "What are you doing?"

Sakura looked more annoyed than startled. Attempting to jerk the hand clutching the sharp stylus back, she replied, "I'm _trying _to finish this seal, now if you would_--"_

Black eyes narrowed. "Why isn't the area numbed?"

The pinkette growled and stopped trying to pull her captured hand back. He'd seen her wince, then. Shooting him a matter-of-fact glare, she drawled, "That would be a waste of chakra. I'm in the middle of Sound," Sasuke's stiffening posture wasn't noticed as she continued, "so I'm doing this without anesthetic. It's much less painful if I just get it done--"

Without releasing the hand holding her improvised needle, Sasuke used his remaining hand to deftly pinch the nerve at the back of his former teammate's neck. Supporting her head as she swayed forward, he scooped her up and placed on the soiled bed. Once she was settled onto her back, he pulled her right forearm toward him and inspected her work.

_Somebody get me through this nightmare_

Groaning, Sakura woke two hours later to an empty room. As she sat up, she frowned at the constricted feel of her right arm. Upon inspection, she saw that it had been wrapped from elbow to wrist in pristine, white bandages. So he'd finished the tattoo for her. She shrugged mentally, so long as it was done. Rubbing the back of her neck she grimaced at the small bruise she was sure was forming; he was rather fond of knocking her out.

As she slid her hand from her nape, her frown deepened at the greasy texture of her hair. She needed a shower. Sliding to the edge of the bed, she stood and glanced around the room more thoroughly. She noticed three doors. There was a door that she'd seen Sasuke come through, a double set that she assumed led to a closet and a final one that may have led to a bathroom.

Padding quickly to the third door, she slid it back to find just what she had hoped for. The dark grey of the bedroom walls were echoed there, along with dark marble and steely fixtures. A blissful smile crossed her features as she spied the shower. A hot rinse would do wonders for both her hygiene and her nerves.

With a slight bounce, Sakura walked into the room. As she quickly gathered shampoo, conditioner and a bathcloth from the shelves near the sink, she noticed a bundle on the counter. Setting the bathing supplies near the shower stall, she turned back to inspect it further.

As she peeled the cloth covering back, she revealed a pile of kunoichi gear. Confusion reigned on her features until she remembered her stained kimono. Glancing down at herself, she decided it was best that she wore the new clothing. A red mesh top and undershirt, black arm guards, shorts and nin-sandals emerged from the parcel. Sarcastically she thought, 'At least it's not purple and white.' She would wear rags over Sound colors.

_I can't control myself_

Dodge, slash, block. Parry, feign, strike. Jutsu, dodge, jab. Sasuke's mind was blessedly blank aside from the vague hum of his ingrained battle instinct. He was wading easily through the various Sound-nin charging at him. Cutting them down without a scratch on his person. It was almost annoyingly easy.

A smirk slid onto his face as he remembered what Orochimaru had told him. He wasn't to kill during training. There were too few elite-nin in the Village and they couldn't afford to replace the numbers that he could run through in three hours of sparring. Sasuke wanted to laugh. Refraining from killing the men around him with his blows was the biggest challenge he faced in his training.

"Uchiha."

Knocking the man attempting to stab him aside with a strong-arm blow to his face, the dark haired man turned to face Kabuto. "Yes?"

The smug med-nin adjusted his glasses and spoke. "Master Orochimaru would like a word."

With a flat 'hn,' Sasuke sheathed his kasanagi and paced toward the Snake Sannin's quarters. It was a five minute walk from the dojo to the Hokage building, and Sasuke couldn't stop himself from glancing down the road toward his house at the edge of the Village. The former 'Land of Rice Fields' had not been converted into Sound overnight, but still retained the look of any other Hidden Village. Its sinister secrets were concealed under a normal-seeming facade.

_So what if you can see this darkest side of me?_

Stepping into the darkened chamber where Orochimaru was sitting, Sasuke called, "You wanted to speak with me?"

A thickly coiled snake slithered to the floor as the tall, thin man stood. "Ah, yes. Sasuke, my favored pupil, I have...," he trailed off for a moment as he locked his gaze onto the younger male's, "caught wind of a most _delicious_ rumor." His reptilian tongue rolled the 's' and 'c' sounds into a delighted hiss. As he strolled to stand before his desk, he specified, "Imagine my surprise to find that one _Haruno Sakura_ is living in my Village."

Sasuke's shoulders stiffened as he cut in, "She won't be for much longer. I intend to take her back as soon as pos--"

A rasping chuckle interrupted him. "Ah, ah, ah! She won't be going anywhere."

Anger spilled onto the Uchiha's face. "Her presence in Sound is the result of my loss of control. It--"

This time a full-blown laugh roiled from the Sannin. "Now now, Sasuke, don't take all the credit! I led you to bring her here! I twisted and warped your own mind against you." At the Uchiha's defiant look, he added, "What? Did you honestly think you'd just watch her from afar, let her have the life you convinced yourself she deserves? You're wrong, Sasuke. You're too possessive, far too _obsessive _for _that_." The speech began tauntingly, mockingly, but ended almost teasingly.

The anger on his face faded, replaced by a self-satisfied grin. "You're wrong. She means nothing to me."

Orochimaru raised his eyebrows grandly, as if humoring a child. "Oh? Let's test that theory, shall we?"

_Somebody help me tame this animal_

Steam filled the moderately spacey bathroom as Sakura took a leisurely shower. As she scrubbed the shampoo suds into her long hair, she tried to ignore the masculine scent permeating the thickened air around her. Rinsing her hair vigorously, she tried to disregard just how much she'd missed her teammate. His sudden reappearance was clouding her judgement. Making her soft. A frown set her features. If she wasn't going to be weak anymore, she had to stop this.

Stepping gingerly out of the fogged stall, the pinkette wrapped herself in a towel and used a spare to begin drying her hair. As she briskly worked the terrycloth through her elbow length locks, she noted that she didn't have a brush. A groan tumbled from her lips. Her hair would be a tangled mess if she didn't do something with it.

Tugging her fingers through her mane, Sakura settled on a single french braid. As she wove the long strands into a rope, she glanced around for something to tie off the end. Her eyes settled on the tattered form of her kimono. Still clutching the end of her completed braid, she tore a sleeve free from the rest of the robe and fashioned a strip of silk to serve as a ribbon. Tying the strip in a feminine bow, she stared contemplatively at the remains of her festival wear. If she could find some needle and thread, she might still be able to salvage part of it. Remembering Ino's reluctant compliment on how the creamy silk kimono had suited her, she promised herself she'd do what she could with it.

Green eyes alight with determination, Sakura slipped into the clothes Sasuke had left for her. The thin red camisole and matching mesh top were comfortable enough, but difficult to conceal weapons under. As she slipped into the shorts and left the armguards and sandals for now, she reasoned that she could use the remains of her kimono as a sort of jacket. Gathering the rest of the clothing and her sewing project, she slipped back into the bedroom.

_So many times I've lied_

Orochimaru gestured flippantly toward a flickering screen on the wall of his office. At the flick of a switch, the static cleared to show a live feed of the exterior of Sasuke's home. Watching with a sick grin as the younger man froze but retained his blank face, the Snake Sannin spoke into a microphone next to the television. "Tsurugi?"

A clear voice rang out, "Yes, Hokage-sama?"

With a long glance at Sasuke, the man asked, "Have you pinpointed the location of your target?"

The voice replied, "Yes, sir. She appears to be in a room at the rear of the building."

"Excellent, can you give my audience a better visual?" Orochimaru smiled as the camera moved closer than zoomed in on a long, narrow window. Steam made the view inside blurry, but a slim figure clad only in a towel could be seen, her long pink hair trailing in damp waves down her back. All three men watched as she obliviously dried her hair, finger combing it then starting a braid at her crown.

Sasuke felt his nails bite into his palms. When the Sannin looked to him, he stonily kept his bland expression. He was not going to let Orochimaru trick him into keeping Sakura here. He wouldn't.

The older man just sighed, "Very good. You may move in and complete your assignment when you wish."

The Uchiha froze. He was bluffing. As if sensing his thoughts, Orochimaru pressed the button again and added, "Do as you will with her. She's of no consequence."

"With pleasure, Hokage-sama." There was a sick glee in the ninja's voice as the view from the camera began to move. The assassin was moving in on Sasuke's home. On Sakura.

Blood rushed from Sasuke's face. What was he going to do?

_But there's still rage inside_

Sakura dropped her arm-load of clothing onto a chair at the foot of the bed and wrinkled her nose at the state of the linens. Making a quick decision, she pulled the sheets from the bed and added them to her pile, careful to fold the blood away from the other items.

She toed the sliding panel open with her foot and made her way cautiously down the hall she found beyond. As she passed the open doors lining the passage, she noted a study or library and a small dining room. The hall soon opened into a modest living room with a clear view of an open kitchen. Dropping everything but the bundle of linens onto a low table in the front room, she ventured into the kitchen.

The cool tile of the room made her curl her bare toes and she tredded softly, unsure of rather or not Sasuke was home. When she heard no footsteps or other noises, she paced to a closed door at the end of the space. If she guessed correctly, it would be a laundry room. Distantly, she realized that the layout of this house reminded her eerily of her parents' in Konoha. Sasuke had once mentioned, after coming over to inform her of an assignment, that he liked the design. With a rueful smile, she dismissed the thought. He was probably trying to keep her busy with the sideways complement so she wouldn't have time to ask him out.

Sliding the door open, she was pleased to find the laundry closet she was hoping for. After she started the sheets in the washer, she poked around in the cabinet and found a small sewing kit. Happily clutching her find, she made her way back to the living room.

_No one will ever change this animal I have become_

Black eyes watched with morbid fascination as the bumpy feed marked the ninja's progress toward the back of his home. The pinkette had disappeared from the view of the window, only to return a moment later, fully clothed. He and the other men had watched as she picked up the rest of her gear (So nice of you to get those things for her, Sasuke-kun.) and left the bathroom.

As soon as the ribbon that marked the end of her braid had disappeared through the frame, the nin in the trees began to move. The screen lurched as he landed in a crouch at the base of his perch and swayed as he walked toward the high window of the bathroom. With a chakra-enhanced jump, the man gripped the window sill and pulled himself up. The window wasn't locked.

As the assassin crept in uncontested through the opening, Orochimaru turned to Sasuke, "Not at all concerned for your own safety, are you?"

Without tearing his eyes from the screen, the younger man asked, "Have I any need to be?"

The Sannin just chuckled and turned back to the spectacle. The ninja had dropped into the bathroom and was briefly reflected in the mirror above the sink as he crossed the room. Sasuke memorized his face with killer intent. The screen displayed a half-obscured visual as the assassin stood at the slightly ajar door that joined the bedroom and bathroom. His quiet chuckle as he watched the pretty kunoichi bend over the bedstead to collect the sheets was silent to his prey, but all to loud in Orochimaru's office.

Sasuke felt blood running between his fingers as his nails broke the skin of his palm. The cuts there from the shattered glass hadn't quite healed and the strain had torn the scabs open. As the man began to move toward the vulnerable figure bunching the linens into a careful pile, Sasuke growled, "Why do you want her here?"

A wide smile split Orochimaru's pasty features. Pressing the button at the side of the screen, he hissed, "Wait a moment, won't you, Tsurugi? There's been a slight delay in our plans."

Reluctantly, the voice whispered back, "Yes, sir. Hanging back."

_Somebody help me tame this animal I have become_

Settling herself into the surprisingly comfy couch back in the living room, Sakura wondered at the domesticity of the house. When Orochimaru had taken over the village, she reasoned he must have converted the occupants to his cause, or...She trailed off, not wanting to delve deeper into the thought. She didn't want to think about what the former occupants of this house had chosen to do. But, Sasuke must have been given this already furbished house.

Glancing down at the sewing basket she'd found, she decided she just couldn't imagine him buying half of the things she saw lying about. She smiled a little at the idea of her brooding former teammate shopping for household supplies as she took up a needle and picked her way through the spools of thread. Finding a pearly white roll, she carefully compared the string against her silken kimono. Her once splendid robe had been cut off at a little above the knee and had lost a sleeve, but with a little thread she was optimistic that she could revive it. Deciding that the color was perfect, she began to hem the bottom of the garment first, carfully evening the edge and ultimately loosing another inch or so to be rid of a bloodstain.

As she worked, she roamed her eyes over the deep red, cherry blossom design on the remaining sleeve. Staring down at the fabric covering her upperbody, she noticed it would be a close match. It was a little odd, as if Sasuke had hoped she would keep the traditional top to wear over the mesh he'd brought her. Dismissing the thought, she ruled that she would keep the remaining left sleeve. It would give her something to conceal her senbon launcher. That decided, she refocused on the work she was doing at the bottom of the silken jacket.

_Help me believe it's not the real me_

Orochimaru faced Sasuke and began, "It occured to me, not so long ago, that with the considerable strength you've gained in your time here...that you may soon be tempted to leave and pursue _other interests_." Smirking as the younger man's eyes narrowed at the oblique mention of his brother, he began again, "And I wondered to myself: How does one keep a selfless, cold blooded avenger in one place? How do you sway a man without fear? Without apparent weakness?"

The Sannin stalked closer to Sasuke's unmoving form. "I'll admit that for a while I was stumped. Stuck. But, it occurred to me that no one is truly heartless, least of all you." Studying the Uchiha's face for a response to his barb, but finding none, he went on, "So I improvised. I got inside your head. Literally. To my _infinite_ delight, I found what I needed there." He paused in front of Sasuke and leaned into his face as he teased, "Really, Sasuke-kun, as cruel as you were to that little girl...who could have known just how much you really cared for her?" Humming a little to himself, he quipped, "Or maybe that was the point."

When the younger man growled angrily, Orochimaru laughed, "But even then I was presented with another set of obstacles. Your one weakness, your one pleasure...turned out to be the pampered protege of Tsunade." The old man spat the name, as if disgusted to have to speak it. "Then I had another revelation: Who better than to steal the Leaf Hokage's beloved disciple than the man she loves?" Stepping back and steepling his fingers, he added, "It was easy from there to activate your Curse Seal and let your baser half take over. Very easy."

For the first time since the assassination had been postponed, Sasuke spoke. He snarled, "If all of this was just an _elaborate mind-fuck_, then why should I care if you kill her? You're the one who planted these ideas, dreams in my head. Maybe once she's dead they'll all be gone again."

The snake-like man 'tsk'ed and strolled back to the furious elite-nin. "Come now, that's cold--even for you, Sasuke. After all, even I can't trick you into caring for her as you do." Stopping just a few feet from his student, Orochimaru jabbed a finger into the left side of Sasuke's chest as he concluded, "Deep down in that dark little heart of yours, you want her here."

Sasuke just smiled. "You're wrong. I couldn't give a shit less."

The Snake Sannin just 'tsk'ed again and cooed, "Language, language, pupil mine." Striding back over to the screen, he pressed the button without looking away form Sasuke's eyes and said, "You may resume your mission now, Tsurugi."

_Somebody help me tame this animal_

Sakura rhetorically wondered it there was a stitching jutsu. Flexing her fingers to ease the stiffness that had built up in them, she wearily picked her needle up again. Her hands were achy with the careful, precise nature of the work she was doing. Generally she was a little more smashy-smashy.

As she glanced back down to check the progress she'd made, she observed that she'd finished the hem and was nearly half-done with the shoulder she'd shorn off to fashion her hair ribbon. In the end, the right sleeve had been a good choice, since a blood stain from her injured hand had ruined most of the silk there anyway. Settling herself back into her repetitive work, she was soon finished.

A reminiscent smile came to Sakura's face as she mentally thanked her traditional mother for the sewing lessons she'd forced her daughter into when she was young. She remembered the long hours she'd spent stitching Uchiha fans into little squares of fabric. At least the nimble motions had come back to her when she'd needed them. It made things go a lot more quickly.

Standing and slipping the modified kimono over her shoulders, she tied her red obi into a delicate knot and twisted it to sit at the base of her spine. As she smoothed down the front of her attire, she heard a footstep and turned to greet who she assumed to be Sasuke. A hand gripped her newly tied bow and stopped her from turning. Annoyed she growled, "Sas--"

She was cut off by foul-smelling breath against her ear, "Hello, pretty girl."

Green eyes widened. That was most assuredly _not_ Sasuke's voice.

_Somebody wake me from this nightmare_

Sasuke was watching in Orochimaru's office when the man, Tsurugi, he remembered, made his way into his living room. The camera's vision was washed out for a moment by the sunlight spilling in from the window at the front of the room. When the device adjusted, he could make out the inverted form of his teammate. The assassin was crouching on the ceiling, observing his prey before he pounced.

Sakura was standing, slipping her one-sleeved jacket over her slim shoulders. The red pattern of the only sleeve matched the elbow length mesh shirt exposed on the other side perfectly. As she carefully tied her traditional obi into an over-sized bow, her fair brow crumpled in concentration, Orochimaru glanced at him and uttered, "She's very pretty, Sasuke-kun. I've never seen her in person before...but now I see why you're so _attached._" Turning back to the screen, he muttered, "Pity."

Grimacing at the squelching feeling of the blood coating his palms as he squeezed his fists tighter, Sasuke remained silent. Transfixed.

The picture shook and spun as Tsurugi dropped from the ceiling, approaching the pinkette as she spun her cloth belt into place. Her head perked and her ribbon-tied braid swayed as the sound reached her ears. Before she could turn, the view from the camera went black as the nin attacking her pressed himself against her back. All that was displayed on the screen were shadows and a blurred close-up of the white embroidery on her red obi. Her annoyed tone played from the speakers, "Sasu--"

A husky voice echoed in the otherwise silent room. "Hello, pretty girl."

Sasuke's stomach rolled. A static sound blared in the room as the assassin brushed his hidden microphone as he slipped a hand down Sakura's thigh. Her fearful squeal made Sasuke's head spin. A pained, male grunt was heard and suddenly they could see a larger picture once more. Sakura had stumbled back from her assailant and was reaching desperately around her for something to use as a weapon.

The camera angle wobbled once more Tsurugi shook off whatever had pained him and stalked after the retreating girl. His voice came again, "Come _here,_ you little bitch!"

He caught up to Sakura in the kitchen. She had her back turned to the assassin and was trying desperately to free a sharp knife from a block on the counter. A dark chuckle filtered through the room as Tsurugi advanced, hands splayed and cutting into the view of the camera on either side. Sakura's voice was shaky as she dropped into a defensive stance and screamed, "Don't come any closer!"

_I can't escape this hell_

Sasuke watched the events unfolding on the screen with anger. Why wouldn't he just stop the assassination? Then with hate. How dare that man touch what was _his_? Then with fear. She could really die. Her big, beryl eyes were shining with terror.

Memories and nightmares roiled in the back of his brain. Sasuke squeezed his eyes shut. He had to keep his cool or Orochimaru would win. A pulsing, throbbing sensation built on his neck. The beast was breaking free in his head.

His eyes snapped open to see Tsurugi disarm Sakura and grab her by the throat. The screen went white as he crushed her against the counter. His voice sounded, "You're all mine now."

Mine. _Mine_. **Mine**. The word reverberated strangely in Sasuke's head as the burning sensation of the Seal crept down his arm, up his neck. As he felt his eyes bleed raging red, a molten feeling boiled up from deep in his gut. Possessiveness. The kind of possessiveness that made him want to carve his name into Sakura's chest. It terrified his rational mind that he wasn't sure if he meant that figuratively or not.

_Sakura was his_.

A bass level roar shook the air around the man-possessed. "_Call off the mission_."

Orochimaru spun to face him. A grin twisted his gaunt features as he replied, "So, you've seen reason! Good. She will be protected so long as she stays inside the Village. If you try to leave without my express permission...she will be punished."

Fighting the spreading sickness, Sasuke growled as his voice flickered between a bestial roar and a yell, "**Fine**! Agreed. Now, call it **off**!"

A tearful scream split the air around him as Orochimaru responded, glancing over his shoulder at the screen, "Oh, Tsurugi?" He didn't wait long for an answer as he addressed Sasuke, "He seems to be a little busy with our friend, Sakura, maybe..." He trailed off as a choked sob was heard from the screen, "You should go and tell him yourself?"

The Seal spread over his body like a wildfire as he tore from the room. As he raced at an impossible speed down the darkening streets of Sound, all he could see were the terrified green eyes that had filled his nightmares. Only now they were playing in real time across a huge screen. And it was directly his fault.

A scream echoed in his head. He had to get to Sakura. _Now_.

_This animal I have become._

* * *

**I'm back to working on this story now that D.V. is only an Epilouge away from being done. (Which will be up tomorrow, Tuesday at the latest.) As always, thanks for reading and please review!**

**Note**: Lyrics from _Animal I Have Become _by Three Days Grace **and are** _**NOT MINE**_


	4. Pearl

Pearl

_Tonight you're mine completely_

Sakura was panicking. The man pressing her into the counter was not going to kill her quickly. He was going to drag it out. Make her miserable.

A sick grin was playing across his scarred face as he trailed a kunai down her bare calf. Warm blood was trickling down her leg, clinging in fat drops on her toes and plopping deafeningly on the tile floor. The only sounds were her quick breathing, the assassin's occasional chuckles and the ominous dripping of blood.

His blade was carving strange patterns and characters into the pale skin of her legs. Fear was making her chest cold and tight, but the liquid pouring from her wounds was distractingly warm. The steady _drip, drip, drip _of the blood falling to the floor was resonating in her head, making it hard to focus.

_"You aren't going to cry are you, Sakura?" _Sasuke's voice sounded from the back of her mind, mocking her. Narrowing her terror-dialated eyes, she began to plan. _I am not weak!_

With a strained groan, she kicked out, catching the blade on the arch of her foot. Gasping at the sting of the weapon biting into her sole, she squeezed her eyes shut and finished shifting her momentum. At the sound of a clatter of metal on tile, Sakura's eyes shot open. She'd done it. Jerking her head forward, she caught the still stunned man's nose in a crushing headbutt. He staggered away from her place ontop of the counter, cursing and clutching his gushing face.

Snapping her bloodied legs together, the Leaf kunoichi twisted her body off of the tiled surface, landing awkwardly. A pained cry escaped her throat as her ankle buckled under her weight, sending a shockwave through her injured legs. Sucking in a shallow breath, she began to vigorously work her bound hands. When the man had caught her off-guard in the living room, he had torn her obi from her. After she had stomped with monster strength on his instep, he'd caught up with her in the kitchen, disarmed her and tied her hands behind her back.

Sakura flinched when an ungodly scream ripped from the doorway. Her hands froze. Whipping her eyes up to find the source of the sound, she nearly fainted at the sight of her assassin. _He was in pieces. _As she choked on rising bile, her eyes met the feral red gaze of her savior.

A sound that sank into her bones rumbled from him. "**MINE.**"

_You give your love so sweetly_

As he stepped into his home: Red. It was all Sasuke could see. Red blood. Sakura's blood. His Seal spread a little further at the realization. _**Who? **_His head was throbbing and his hands were clenching around his hilt until his fingers were numb. Sharingnan eyes settled on Tsurugi's hunched form. Without another moment of thought, he struck. The wounds he cleaved hadn't even begun to bleed as the man's remains sloshed to the floor. It was only once they made impact that blood began to flood the white tile in a sickening tide.

Thick, warm liquid flowed into the open toes of his nin-sandals as he looked up again to find black-green eyes fixated on him. The beast rushed forward in his brain as he roared, "**MINE.**"

The puddle of blood at his feet was hardly disturbed as he flash-stepped from the doorway to tower in front of Sakura. Grasping the obi binding her hands, he sheathed his blade and freed her hands. Her emerald green irises were hardly more than a thin ring--they were so dilated with fear and disgust. His low, concerned growl made her jump back slightly, only infuriating him further.

Hot breath fanned across her blanched face as he stooped down to snarl into her face. _**Why was she running from him? She was **_**HIS.**

Sakura's heart was racing as she stared insanity in the face. Her beloved teammate. _Her Sasuke_ was buried, hijacked by an animalistic and basic being. Feral bloodlust and something just as dark, but oh so different was barreling back at her. A long forgotten memory was washing to the forefront of her mind. Hadn't her presence, her affection calmed him once? In the Forest of Death...

Not allowing herself to think any further, she threw her arms over the bloody man-possessed's shoulders and clung desperately to him. When she felt him coil as if to strike, she whispered frantically, still teary and afraid, "Sasuke-kun?"

Slowly, almost painfully slowly, his muscles untensed. A rattling breath rushed from the elite-nin's lungs as he dropped his head onto the pinkette's slim shoulder. As his Curse receded, he gripped the silky fabric at her back and asked in an infinitely calmer voice, "Why are you bleeding? Just--," he pressed his face tighter into her neck, "heal it."

_Tonight the light of love is in your eyes_

Pulling back to lock her eyes with Sasuke, she mumbled, "I can't." At the look on his face she hastily added, "I used the last of my chakra on..." Ducking to avoid his still red-tinted gaze, she didn't complete the thought.

Sasuke didn't answer, he just let his body lean back further, still holding her at the base of her spine. As he assessed her bloody legs, his face tightened. Without warning, he swept her up into a bridal hold and flash-stepped past the carnage on the floor between the kitchen and the living room.

When Sakura opened her eyes, she was back in the bathroom she'd used just that morning. Pacing past the shower, Sasuke sat her on the lip of the sunken bathtub. After he adjusted the taps for a steady stream of warm water, he turned back to her and slowly tugged her kimono top from her shoulders. Without the obi to hold the jacket closed, it slipped off easily. Body limp with exhaustion both physical and mental, Sakura simply sat by trustingly as her former teammate lifted the mesh top from her body. Soon she was left with only a thin camisole and shorts on the edge of the bath basin.

Stepping back for a moment to drop the articles into a hamper by the door, Sasuke shrugged his bloodied white shirt off and dropped it in as well. Without turning back to the girl sitting quietly by the tub, he toed off his soaked sandals. He ignored the faint, pink footprints he left on the floor as he returned to Sakura's side.

The water pouring from the faucet had filled the bath nearly half way. Sasuke seated himself so that his legs remained outside the tub while Sakura's dangled within, the dried blood on her feet already starting to disappear.

Reaching to the shelf nearby, Sasuke grabbed a bathcloth and soaked it in the warm bathwater. He kept his eyes on his hand as he slowly began to rinse the rusty taint from Sakura's pale skin. The motions of rinsing, rewetting and ringing the cloth became repetitive and calming. The last vestiges of red faded from his eyes.

_Is this a lasting treasure?_

Sakura watched with dazed amazement as her longtime crush slowly bathed her injured legs. Chakra exhaution, the warm water and his gentle scrubbing were making her head fuzzy. Her eyes roamed over the broad surface of his back as he turned to rinse the cloth in his hand, she silently mapped the many scars criss-crossing his flesh. An 'x-shaped' on on his left bicep was catching her attention particularly. The way it shifted as he flexed the muscles of his upper arm. Breathing deeply and moving her gaze away from the arm braced beside her, she noticed a glint of green against Sasuke's chest.

There, hanging on a silvery chain, was her ring! Its single, emerald stone winked at her under the overhead lighting of the bathroom.

Her thoughts still clouded with a tired fog and faint happiness at seeing the familiar object in all the chaos around her, Sakura murmured, "You still have my ring. I thought--"

Catching the hand extended to touch the bauble in a tight grip, Sasuke inspected her face for a moment before he asked lowly, "What makes it so special?"

The pinkette frowned and let her eyes slip shut as she tried to focus. "Someone important gave it to me. I would...be really sad if I lost it." Inhaling the water-laden air around her blissfully, green eyes flickered open to stare into steely black ones. Sakura started slightly as she realized how close he had come in a literal blink of her eyes. The wet hand clutching hers was making water trickle down her forearm to as she squinted at him. "Wha--"

Her question was cut short by the lips descending onto hers.

_Or just a moment's pleasure?_

A low sound tumbled from Sasuke's lips as he pressed against Sakura. Still dripping hands found their way to her small waist as he pulled her halfway from the tub and against his body. Warm water soaked through the thin fabric of her top, leaving a distinct imprint of his hands on the sweet indent above her hips. A smirk pulled at his mouth at the thought. He liked the idea of leaving his mark on her little body.

Distantly he wondered what that might mean but dismissed the thread in favor of working his way down her neck. Pressing nipping kisses against the line of her jaw, he began to drop onto the column of her throat. The bruises that he found there gave him pause. Laving the darkening marks with his tongue, he reflected that he should have killed the bastard who'd given them to her more slowly.

The little mewling sound she made when he found a special spot at the base of her neck made him smile against her cool skin. Tightening his grip at her waist, he repeated the motion. An identical sound met his ears and he rumbled in return. He had begun to make his way back to her mouth when she trailed one hand from his arm up to his neck en route to his hair. Her slim fingers stopped abruptly when they passed over the thin chain that held her ring.

A reedy intake of air and she gasped, "Sasu--" Before she could form the last sounds of his name, he reared back and recaptured her mouth once more. As he pressed commandingly against her pliant form, he refocused her attention on him. On his actions. On what he was making her feel. Skating a hand up to cup the back of her head, just under her heavy braid, he thought doggedly, 'I don't want to hear her ask for the gods-damned ring.' A nip to her full bottom lip encouraged her to let him slip past her lips and into the cavern beyond. As he teasingly stroked the line of her teeth, he brooded, 'I don't want to hear that she's happy with someone else. She can't be.'

Pulling back abruptly to scoop her unresisting body into his arms again, he lifted her to straddle his waist as he stood. 'I won't let her.'

_Can I believe the magic of your sighs?_

As her back sank into the bare mattress in the bedroom, Sakura wondered just what the hell she was doing. But large hands were sliding with a rasping sort of friction against the flesh of her sides and she could no longer question, just observe. Warm lips and cool teeth were hovering across her ribcage as she reflected. Uchiha Sasuke was being undeniably affectionate with her. Rolling her eyes toward the ceiling as a wet tongue dipped into her bellybutton, she gripped his surprisingly soft hair and wondered what the fuck was going through the head between her palms. The scrape of his teeth at the seam of her skin and the cloth of her shorts made her hips arch up and away from the bed beneath her. As his fingers deftly pulled the zipper and then the pants from her body, she wondered what would happen tomorrow. Once all this _heat _was gone.

A callous caught on the edge of one of the half-healed cuts scattered across her inner thigh and she squirmed--not from pain, but from something a hundred times achier. Deep and husky, a moan tumbled from her throat. The skin beneath the hand on his shoulder shuttered at the sound. Intrigued, she repeated the groan, this time a little deeper. His chest vibrated as he pulled back, caging her in with his arms as he stared down at her with half-mast eyes.

His dark eyes were utterly black as he drank in the sight of her in her cotton panties and bunched-up undershirt, her hair ribbon lost. Coral pink locks fanned from her deteriorated braid to the bare mattress under her head and her dilated eyes pinned him to the spot. He watched, intranced, as she drew in a slow breath. "Sasuke, I--"

Descending on her again, he let his hips fall into the cradle of her bare thighs as he groaned raggedly against her lips, "Just. Don't. Talk."

She gasped at the rolling motion of his hips against hers, forgetting utterly what she had wanted to say in the first place. Simply nodding her head, Sakura let one hand bury itself in the short hairs at his nape as the other skimmed over to his braced arm. Tracing the scar that had caught her eye earlier with her fingernail, the pinkette smiled as she felt Sasuke's groan. It began as a rumble against her belly and ended in a puff of air against the bridge of her nose. Rubbing her cheek against the underside of his chin as he repeated the roll with his pelvis, she gradually shifted her legs to wrap around his narrow hips.

_Tonight with words unspoken, you tell me I'm the only one_

Her soft skin under his hands was making him insane. To his rough, battle-hardened hands, she seemed softer than the silk she wore. The fact that he'd nearly lost her. That the shallow, partially healed cuts on her legs were his fault. It was all pressing down on his head until he just wanted to reaffirm that she was alive...that she was _his_. Irrevocably so.

That in mind, he curved his back until he could reach the sweet spot he'd discovered in the bathroom. Once he could, he began dragging long, wet kisses against the small hallow. As the skin gradually pinkened, he began biting and soothing the patch intermittently. A smirk curved his lips as the spot flushed a ruby red and he pulled back to assess his work. There would be a mark there by morning and it would just show above the neckline of her top.

Straightening and dropping a kiss into the delicate skin below her chin, he muttered, "You have to stay inside the house, Sakura."

At this, she simply nodded, grinding her hips against his and groaning before asking, "When can I leave?"

Sasuke froze. Leave? She couldn't. Dropping his full weight onto her smaller frame, he hissed against her ear, "You can't."

Her reaction was immediate. A fist smashed against his shoulder as she tried to squirm out from underneath him. "I have to! I have things, people to get back to in--"

A snarl broke loose from his chest as he pressed down more fully against her. "Who?"

Dazed, Sakura couldn't answer quickly enough.

_But will my heart be broken?_

Red-tinted eyes bored into hers as he leaned so close she could feel the cool surface of her ring come to rest against her breastbone. She was starring wide-eyed when he continued, "Who's so _fucking important _that he's all you can think about?"

Pounding a hand into the bed next to her shocked face, he demanded, "_Who_?"

Sakura choked on her own words as she tried to form a response. Worming side to side more desperately, she jumped when he screamed, "_Answer me_!"

Her patience snapped. "Fuck you!"

A coarse grin split his face as his eyes flared red. "No," he growled as he pressed his hips into hers crudely, "fuck _you_."

The mortified look that fluttered across her face for an instant made him laugh cynically as he rolled off the bed and gathered a few articles of clothing before slamming the sliding door behind him.

Wincing at the loud bang, the pinkette's face crumpled as she curled into a fetal position. Her shoulders began to shake with repressed sobs as the full toll of the past few days began to bare down on her. She'd been kidnapped, brutally attacked, had her hand shattered and whatever had just happened...It was all just too much.

After a few solid minutes of quiet crying, she too stood from the bed and dressed herself in an oversized shirt from a drawer with shaking hands. The rest of her things were still dirty and she didn't have the time or attention to spend on laundry.

_When the night meets the morning star_

A spring rainstorm had blown in around three in the morning, and Sakura was sitting on the porch that surrounded the entire house, watching it blow in. The deep peels of thunder and occasional bursts of lightening against the dawn-pale sky helped to calm her scattered wits. Warm droplets of rain were gusting lazily from the laden clouds overhead and she was letting one foot dangle absently from the edge of her perch. Rain was coating her skin, but the temperature was too moderate to give her a chill.

As she watched the blurry horizon begin to flare with daylight, the pinkette tried to decide what to do. She could remain here, in Sound, with the Sasuke that seemed to be...interested in her. She squashed the rebellious side of her mind that cheered at the idea. Or she could try to escape...make it back to Konoha. Even if she didn't make it all the way, there were probably patrols out looking for her. Her stomach lurched at what Tsunade would say if she could see her pupil now.

Setting her beryl gaze on the rising sun, Sakura opted to plan an escape. She would have to wait until Sasuke was gone for the day and...

Before she could plan any further, a rustling sound caught her attention. A second later, the folded form of her kimono top landed a little ways behind her where the ground was dry. She knew without looking up who had returned.

"Come inside." His icy tone booked no room for argument. For a moment, she considered backtalking, but decided that he would get his soon enough. She would be long gone and he would be unable to do anything about it by the time he realized. Smiling a little to herself and taking one last look at the breaking dawn, Sakura did as she was told.

Scooping up the bundle of silk he'd dropped near her hip, she unfurled it as she stood to follow him when he made his way back into the house. Her heart skipped a beat at what was emblazoned at the back. A large, Uchiha fan.

_I'd like to know that your love is love I can be sure of..._

* * *

**End Chapter Four: Pearl. It's a little short, but I figured the limey-ness would make up for it. :3 YaY for bastard!Sasuke. Not.**

**Thanks for reading and please review!**

**Lyrics: **_Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow (Cover) _by Amy Winehouse **NOT MINE**


	5. Hyclon

**Hyclon**

_Such a lonely day_

The kitchen smelled like earth and rain. Sakura had opened the window after Sasuke had removed the remains from the doorway. After a few minutes of scrubbing and trying to distract herself from the entire situation, she was fighting tears once more. The beast had passed, leaving a possessive Sasuke she'd never encountered before, only for him to give way to the blank slate that was hovering over her now. His black eyes were utterly empty as he watched her move around the house.

She had pointedly avoided dealing with his newest mood by busying herself with chores. Maybe, she reasoned, if she just kept moving she would be able to think. So she'd fished the linens from the washing machine and hung them out to dry in the now crisp morning air. From there, she had straightened the bathroom and started a second load of clothing in cold water to rinse out the bloodstains. Just as she was running out of things to keep herself occupied, Sasuke's voice sounded from behind her.

"I'm leaving. Stay in the house." He didn't wait for an answer as he disappeared through the front door.

As the shouji slid shut, Sakura's bland expression washed away. Running a hand though her loose hair, she paced back toward Sasuke's bedroom. The kimono sprawled across the chair at the foot gave her pause. It was the jacket that she had altered, but Sasuke had apparently taken it to a tailor and had the Uchiha emblem added. Reaching up to feel the back of her collar, she smiled caustically at the stitching that met her fingertips. Even the shirt she'd borrowed had a little Uchiha fan.

Padding out to sit at the edge of the porch again, she hugged her knees and thought, '_First he didn't want me, now he wants to brand me._' After an hour or more of contemplation, the pinkette turned to go back inside. If she was going to regain her chakra reserves anytime soon, she needed to sleep. Settling down for a nap, she noted that she would have to be at one hundred percent to escape back to Konoha. Further than that, she would have to pray for luck.

_And it's mine_

When Sasuke returned from his afternoon training, he found Sakura outside. She was hurrying to pull the now-dry linens off of the line as an evening storm blew in. The white sheets were whipping around her, concealing her for long moments only to fly back and away from her grip. Her long hair was free of its braid and caught up by the strong wind as well. For a while, the elite-nin stood transfixed. The young med-nin had shrugged on her kimono and her back displayed the Uchiha fan.

She looked nothing short of a young housewife, hurrying to gather the laundry. Something strange settled in his stomach as he remembered his mother doing the same thing while he ran and played among the linens. A loud curse reached his ears and reminded him that his former teammate was not his beautiful mother, but another thing entirely.

A few quick motions later and the entire clothesline came down with a sweep of her concealed kunai. Sakura was a kunoichi, not a soft civilian. Green mist hovered over her arms for a moment as she grabbed the long strand of clothing, plucking it eerily easily from the grip of the breeze.

After reeling in the line, she bundled the line into a pile and fitted them into a nearby basket. As he glanced down to his blood-spattered body, he decided to bathe before confronting her.

_The most loneliest day of my life_

When Sakura walked back into the sliding doors of the bedroom, she was surprised to hear the shower running. '_Sasuke's home_.' She blinked as the phrasing of her own thought surprised her. Home? Since when had the house she was being held captive in become home?

Glancing down to the basket of laundry in her arms, she tightened her grip on its handles. Maybe she wanted this. Still. Even after a million hours of training, of bettering herself. Maybe she still just wanted to be Sasuke's wife. Green eyes fluttered shut at the thought. She was still so weak. Weak for still loving the man who'd walked away from their _true _home of Konoha.

A loud beep sounded from the kitchen, startling her from her thoughts. At the tone she also heard the water stop. He'd heard it, too. Setting her features and sliding the door shut behind her, Sakura padded toward the front of the house.

As she dropped the washing in front of the couch in the living room, she made her way to the beeping stove. Turning the heat dial back to 'off,' she quickly stirred one of the pots on top of the range.

'_Once I leave, this is all over._' She reasoned. '_He'll be here, and I'll be back __**home **__in Leaf where I belong._' Setting her jaw into a grim smile, she thought, '_I'll just enjoy it while it lasts, because after this..._' Sakura didn't finish the thought. Instead, she began plating the meal she'd prepared and setting it onto a tray to transport it to the dining room.

_Shouldn't exist_

Stepping out of the shower but still not feeling clean, Sasuke wrapped a towel around his waist as he walked to the mirror above the sink. The face that stared back at him reminded him of the man he hated. He turned away, forgetting what made him stop there in the first place and paced into the bedroom to dress.

Sounds of doors sliding open down the hall told him that Sakura had come inside. The smell of food a moment later surprised him. He paused in tying his belt as he considered just what she was doing. Coming back to his senses and knotting the thick cord once more, he resolved that he would find out.

A moment later, his fingers were pulling back the thin screen that closed off the bedroom, leaving it carelessly ajar as he made his way toward the dining hall. As he stopped in the hallway outside, he waited and watched as the pinkette set the small table for only one. Before he could ponder who the setting was for, she pulled back the chair and said, "I hope you're hungry."

Nearly brushing her as he entered and sat down, he intoned, "Set another place. You're eating."

She answered quickly, as if she'd anticipated the argument. "Food like this will make me sick so soon after exhausting my chakra." Pinned by his dark gaze, she added, "I've already been drinking fluids all day. I should be fine for meals by tomorrow."

When the shinobi said nothing further Sakura dropped the last thing on the tray, a pair of chopsticks, onto the table by his hand. Without any further dialogue, she turned and left the room.

_It's a day that I'll never miss_

Sakura made her way back to the living room and to the basket of laundry she'd left there. Fishing out the bundle, she went about removing the items from the line and setting the twine aside. She rolled her eyes a little as she thought back on the impulsive act of cutting the line. Really, she just made more work for herself.

Separating the freed laundry into piles, she was pleased to notice that all of the blood had come out of the garments. A rueful thought crossed her mind, '_At least being a nin has taught me one thing_.' She left the clothing heaped on the cushion next to her as she gathered the clean sheets and made her way to the back of the house. First she stopped off in Sasuke's room and made quick work of replacing the linens and spreading a dark summer blanket over them.

Her next stop was the guest room she'd found earlier that day and she made quick work of the bed there as well. She had washed the sheets and remade the bed and had even discovered a spare blanket thin enough to be comfortable with the spring weather. Once that chore was finished, she hummed a little to herself and paced back to the family room.

There, she settled herself back onto the couch and went about folding the clothing she'd left on the couch. She was still working when she heard Sasuke emerge from the dining room.

_Such a lonely day_

Sasuke wasn't sure what he felt as he stood from the table. Half-heatedly piling the bowels and plate onto the tray, he left it on the table and he walked out. The almost magnetic pull of the pinkette's feeble chakra signature told him she was back in the family room.

A few strides and he was standing in the hall, studying her as she folded one of his over sized, white shirts. As she smoothed it on top of an existing pile of his clothes, he broke in, "Why are you doing this?"

Sakura froze at the question and answered slowly, "Do you want me to stop?"

The immediate 'no' that came to his mind did little to his facial expression as he failed to answer. Instead, he strode forward, into the room she occupied. Sasuke knew he was hovering, but couldn't bring himself to care. Once he'd stopped moving, the woman returned to what she was doing. Systematically she finished off the basket and began loading the piles back in.

As soon as the last stack was inside, she stood and walked past him toward the back of the house once more. Feeling the urge to follow her, he bent his head. His impulses were beginning to irritate him. Rather than trailing after her, he made his way toward the front door.

If he couldn't get a better reign on his reactions to her, he wouldn't remain in her presence.

_Should be banned_

Sakura had already deposited her small pile in her room when she heard the front door swing shut with a bang. Drawing in a deep breath, she crossed the hall to Sasuke's room and wondered what she'd done this time. A shadow crossed her features as she wondered why she even cared.

Dropping the stack of clothes she'd cleaned onto the foot of his bed, she was ready to turn and walk back out when a dripping noise reached her ears. The repetitive drip-drop would grate her nerves if she didn't stop it. Huffing a little and dropping the basket at the doorway, she shuffled toward the bathroom.

Once she was inside, she paused, gauging where the sound was coming from. Turning her head sharply, she pinpointed it at the sink. Two steps and she was twisting the tap until the slow stream of water stopped. A glint in the half-filled basin made her heart skip a beat. There, sitting forlornly beneath the pinkish water, was her ring. Dipping her hand quickly into the sink, she grasped the chain and pulled it out.

Frowning a little, she wondered at the odd place she'd found it. Another glance at the coloration of the water she'd retrieved it from told her what she wanted to know. Sasuke must have gotten it bloody and allowed it to dry. A soak would have removed the dried stains and dyed the bath to match what she saw before her.

A smile crossed her lips as she turned the band over in her palm. Grasping two parts of the silvery chain, she pulled as hard as she could. Nothing. A disbelieving look flooded her face. She'd even channelled a little chakra into her hands and the metal hadn't so much as stretched. Pulling again, she got the same results. Or lack there of.

Biting her lip, she decided not to waste anymore time. As she slid the ring onto her pinkie finger, she found that the added width of the chain made it a passable fit for her smallest finger. A surge of chakra to her finger and the stone faded a little as a warming sensation burst to life in her chest. A smile split her features. This was her chance.

She dashed quickly from the room, overturning the clothes basket into the hall as she went.

_And if you go_

The bustle of the relatively busy market wasn't doing anything for Sasuke's temper. People were passing by him so close that they nearly touched him and it was setting him on edge. A creaky, feminine laugh grated over his ears and he turned to glare at the being who'd made the offensive sound.

An old, haggard woman was the culprit. She stood, hunched behind her stall and smiled, displaying rotten teeth, as she noticed Sasuke's glower. Spreading her arms to draw his attention to her wares, she cackled, "A boy as handsome as you must have a lady friend to buy for, yes?"

A curl of his lips expressed what he thought of that and he was ready to continue brooding down the main path when the contents of the woman's cart made a little bell go off inside his head. Jewelry of every size, shape and authenticity dripped from the rickety wooden structure. The shine of a large, fake emerald in the dying sunlight made him freeze.

He had left her ring in the sink.

An instant later, he was on top of a nearby roof, pumping energy into his legs as he hopped from building to building, setting a rapid course for his home. He wasn't sure what made him quite so desperate to keep her away from the ring. The fiery swirl of jealousy, deep inside his gut even now wasn't the only factor.

Something about it made him suspicious. The stone itself reminded him so much of Sakura it was astounding. It was green, of course, like her eyes. But that wasn't quite it. As he pushed off the last building with enough force to crack its brickwork, he frowned in thought. Its resting place against his chest always seemed warm and...A realization hit him as his knees absorbed the shock of his landing on the dirt path at the edge of the Village.

_I want to go with you_

It wasn't an emerald at all. It was her stored, concentrated chakra. That explained why she was always so desperate to get a hold of it. With that much chakra, she could make a non-stop run for Konoha from here, easily. A crystal infused with enough of her energy to _color_ it would be more than enough, even in her weakened state. A vicious curse fell from his lips as he took off at a run.

She was the Hokage's apprentice and he'd underestimated her. Of course she'd have some sort of trump card. He felt the seal on his neck pulse with his increased agitation. He thought back on what she'd said the night before.

_"Someone important gave it to me. I would...be really sad if I lost it."_

At the time, he'd attributed her pause to her tired state. He hadn't considered that she might have been flat out lying. She had always been such an obvious liar and she seemed truthful when she'd spoken. Dark brows drew together. Her placid features could be attributed to the fact that Tsunade had most likely given the stone to her. In her mind, she wasn't directly lying.

As he skidded to a stop at the back door of his home, he snarled at the scene that met him. The doorway was wide open and basket was spilled in the hall. The curse seal exploded across his body as an infuriated roar ripped from his chest.

Sakura was gone.

_Walk away_

* * *

**Oooh. Cliffhanger. :3 Sorry for the short chapter, I've been really busy but wanted to keep up on this fic. I'm not really happy with the lyrics this time, so they may be subject to change once I get some time. The song's **_Lonely Day _**by System of a Down and it's NOT MINE. **

**Thanks for reading and please review!**


	6. Radium

**Radium**

_Sometimes I feel I've got to run away_

Rapid chakra regeneration was not a pleasant feeling. As the warm heat bloomed from her hand through her capillaries to veins then arteries and pumping at last into her heart, Sakura felt like her blood was boiling. It was like the life-giving liquid was expanding in her chest, exceeding the volume she could handle. Roiling, unbridled energy was twisting, roaring into her system. The technique she was using to keep it from overloading her body was draining her almost as quickly as she regained chakra. That was why her modification of the Genesis Rebirth Technique was always a last resort.

The stored energy she was drawing from was like a poison in her system, replenishing her energy even as it distracted her mind. It wasa double-edged sword.The sheer concentration it took to direct the chakra through her body, keeping it from building up too much in any particular place was beyond difficult. Pairing it with her battle consciousness was impossible. She physically couldn't conduct the cascading energy and fight.

When she had designed the technique, it had been to use as an emergency 'refill' of sorts. Rather than use for battle, she'd intended it to be used to preform surgeries that would be impossible otherwise. It was like having a secondary stash of her own chakra at her fingertips, almost literally. What she was doing now was not the ring's normal purpose at all. Hell, she wasn't even sure that it wouldn't backfire. She'd never used it before. The risk of serious injury or even fatality was high when she had the time to sit down and meld the chakra into her system calmly.Yet here she was panicky and fleeing through an enemy forest, the huge influx of energy ripping through her frame. The excess chakra was leaving craters in the trees she kicked off from, even felling some. At the loud crash of one impacting the ground behind her, she knew that subtlety was out of the question. She was going to have to try and out run the fastest shinobi she'd ever encountered.

Sakura had to make a straight shot to Konoha. She couldn't afford to make any stops to even fend off Sasuke. She could not engage.The consequences of her pausing, breaking her concentration for even a moment, were sure to be dire.

_You drive into the heart of me_

Irrational quantities of rage and curse seal energy were flooding Sasuke's mind. It was reminiscent of the sensation lava would convey if it were coursing through him in place of his blood. He was on fire. His eyes were flickering between the sickly yellow of the curse and bloody red. Energy was enhancing his leaps until he seemed to be flying rather than jumping. Wind was ripping past him and he could almost hear his prey.

The scar of fallen trees had been easy to follow and he was sure he was gaining on her even now. Her path was erratic and zigzagging. Still half-coherent eyes narrowed in thought. If she was trying to run, she wasn't being very smart about it. The enormous destruction she was leaving in her wake was pointless and chakra-wasting. This escape was impulsive and poorly planned.

Almost as the thought occurred tohim, the sound of a distant crash reached his hypersensitive hearing. He was catching up to her. The surrounding branches and boughs were still swaying with the quickness of her passing. Soon he could even smell her. She was trailing an intoxicating blend of fresh linens,whatever earthy herb she'd been dicing and his personal scent of sandalwood. The fact that she had acquired the latter from close, recent contact with his bed made his head swim. He was going to drag her back and...

A smirk spread like a disease over his savage features. He was going to make sure she never ran from him again.

_Once I ran to you_

A deeply ingrained instinct made Sakura jerk her body to the left when she heard a low, whistling sound. A moment later, a swirl of steel and air ripped past her hip with only inches to spare. The fuuma shurikan she dodged tore cleanly through the tree she'd been planning to boost herself off of. With a quiet curse, the kunoichi touched off of the ground and launched back up, aiming for another canopy. She was nearly there when the bough she had set her sights on crashed downward.

This time a slight scream fell from her throat as she plunged downward once more. Rolling body and checking her momentum, she controlled her fall and hit the forest floor running. Panic and terror welled in her chest, fueling the burn of the expanding chakra to mind-numbing heights.With a gasp, she tried to gulp in a breath of air only to feel as if her lungs were full. Her eyes widened as she frantically directed pooling energy away from her chest. The moment her level was normal again, she could inhale.

Her concentration was slipping. It was making it hard for her body to function as she ran and avoided attacks. She was running on instinct thus far, but much more resistance andshe was going to be in trouble. That though echoing in her mind, she changed her path, making it erratic and looping.

If her assumption was correct, Sasuke only had a vague idea of where she was. He wasn't close enough to physically engage her. The weapons that had impeded her path so far where all long-range. As another windmill blade whizzed through the air above her, leveling several treetops, she pulled her body right. Narrowly escaping the collapsing canopies, Sakura stumbled as chakra overloaded her thigh muscle. At the cost of precious seconds, she paused and rerouted the energy from the locked limb.Tension clamped her jaw tightly as she rocketed off once more, unsure of where she was headed.

She was running blind in the forest outside Sound Village and Sasuke wasn't far behind.

_Now I run from you_

Launching another summoned blade with a snarl, Sasuke continued to propel himself through the ravaged treescape behind Sakura. He could hear her clearly now, down to her rapid footfalls. The tiny scream she'd released had spurred him on until her scent was heavy on the evening breeze. But he could not yet caught sight of her. The width of the trees told him that they still weren't far from Orochimaru's Village, though. They were no where near the mammoth size of those that bordered Konoha.

A sharp backtrack in her trail made surprised him. She was running back toward the town. Twisting his body mid-leap, he stayed on track without losing his pace. Feral eyes searched the path ahead. It was random and maze-like.

This wasn't like his cleaver little teammate at all. It was illogical and pointless to jag back and forth so much. Slinging another fuuma shurikan toward her, he sped up a little more. As the thunder of a toppling giant trunk sounded, he heard a squealof pain. The bough he'd stopped on to toss the weapon splintered into oblivion when he took off once more, tearing after the sound.

Seconds later he reached the most recently chopped tree. It was an enormous one and had only lost a single branch to his distanced attack. The bough, however, was wider by far than two grown men could wrap their arms around. He was just dropping down to investigate when the entire log went airborne. Growling and wrenching himself backward, Sasuke scarcely dodged the arc of the enormous branch. As he lit once more onto a nearby tree, he looked down into the space the fallen bough had once occupied.

His petite teammate was laying in the hollow where itonce rested, her arms still thrown out after tossing the weight from her form. An eerie green outlined her entire body. She was literally exuding chakra from her pores. Before his very eyes, herscrapes and contusions she sustained as the tree toppled onto her evaporated in little wisps of smoke. A rattling cough rose from her body as she struggled to stand.

Without another moment's hesitation, Sasuke descended onto her.

_Tainted love_

The deafening groan of the tree behind her falling was not lost on Sakura. She was already redirecting her trajectory when a chakra-induced cramp made her double over as it spasmed her abdominal muscles. The sensation of the smaller branches of the bough slapping her contorted back was nothing in comparison to the entire weight of the log that bared down on her only an instant later. She didn't even remember screaming.

Even as the crushing mass of wood snapped her ribs, her rampaging chakra funneled in, healing them as they broke. She had the distinct pleasure of feeling her bones cracking only to have the remnants not-so-gently rearranged seconds later. The sensation was beyond description and for a moment, she blacked out. Her eyes rolled back in her skull as the breaking and repairing process slowed to a halt.

The press of the wood and still rushing chakra pulled her back only a moment later. Unable to draw breath, Sakura shoved desperately, leaving severe chakra-release burns on her palms as she blasted the fallen log from her prone body. It was another few seconds before she could inhale as her oxygen-depraved mind tired sluggishly to command her energy.

Pressing her injured hand into the compacted dirt at her sides, the kunoichi slowly sat up. She glanced down to her ring, noting its pale green color. It was almost finished. Her chakra was almost done pouring recklessly into her body. As soon as the stone was clear once more, she would be able to handle her energy levels normally.

Her relief was cut savagely short as she forced herself to stand. Her heart nearly stopped when she saw a shadow drop from the treeline in front of her. Only one shinobi moved like that. Sasuke.

_I've got to get away_

The moment she spotted him, she took off again. A snarl ripped from his throat as he thought, '_Wrong decision._'

His entire body simply disappeared as he launched himself at Sakura's fleeing form. It wasn't difficult for him to keep up with her panicky flight. In fact, after a moment of analyzing her movement, he began to manipulate her direction with a few well-placed blades. He was going to corral her back toward Sound.

A few minutes of rapid travel passed and a break in the thick undergrowth became apparent on the horizon. A second later, they breached it and the sprawling yard of his homecame into view. He smirked at the sound of Sakura's curse. His plan had worked.

Another rain of steel was enough to pause her retreat toward the forest. Twirling a final kunai around his finger, Sasuke stalked toward his frozen prey. A lazy flick of his wrist and the final part of his trap was sprung.

The tossed knife had pinned the dangling chain connected to Sakua's precious ring.The unbreakable necklace was wedged firmly between the steely kunai and the wood of the tree Sasuke had backed her into. He watched with smug delight was the kunoichi tugged desperately, attempting to break the chain rather than dislodge the knife. Her panic would be her downfall.

Her eyes widened as she noticed the smoldering exploding tag connected to the hilt. In a rasp, he taunted, "Loose the ring or loose your hand, Sakura.Choose quickly."

_I've got to run away_

Sakura wrenched the band from her finger just in time to be tossed back mercilessly as the tag detonated. As she flew back through the air in a sickly free fall, she cursed as the chakra continued to pour into her system as she lost consciousness. How could she direct the energy if she wasn't awake? A terrible feeling settled low in her stomach. She had been unable to breath after blacking out for only a moment. Previous experience with being this close to a detonating tag told her she would be out of it long than that this time. Was she going to die?

Sasuke shot forward, catching the knocked-out form of the little pinkette. The fool was supposed to make her decision _before _the tag exploded. Nevertheless, he easily plucked her out of her fall, just short of gently. He hardly had the time to grasp her wrist and pull her down to himself when suddenly she locked up. Her entire body went rigid in his grasp as he caught her. Turning her deftly in his arms, he stiffened at the terrified look on her face. She had good reason to be afraid, but the abject horror of her expression twisting her sleeping features was something else entirely.

Shifting his small burden, Sasuke noticed something off about her body. Her chest wasn't rising and falling. Sakura wasn't breathing.

His grip tightened reflexively around her little body as the realization hit him. He had cut off the chakra supply, why was this happening? His blood hued eyes watched the pulsating green glow that haloed her for a moment. Her levels were still high enough to produce the aura?A viscous curse tore from his lips as he sprinted for his house. He needed to syphon off some of the excess chakra before it was too late.

_This tainted love you've given_

It took himless than two minutes to drop Sakura safely onto his bed and find the blade he needed. Pulsing a little of his malevolent energy into the wicked looking dagger, Sasuke slashed along cut into his dying teammate's palm. A dark, deep black light flared to life around the bloodied weapon in his hand. As the dark light grew, green chakra began to trickle from the slash he'd made. At first the flow was slow and hesitant, but as the blood poured more and more heavily from the cut, so did her chakra.

Soon her clenched muscles began to go slack. After what seemed like a small eternity, she drew a breath. As she regained a steady pattern, Sasuke left her side for a moment. He returned after stashing away the sinister weapon and retrieving a bandage.Wrapping the gash he'd made and securely tying the ends off, the Uchiha settled down in a chair to wait. He wasn't sure at this point how long it would be until she woke. But he knew how long he'd wait.

As the curse seal slowly receded with her prolonged proximity, Sasuke remembered that he was to have met Orochimaru...he glanced at the clock, three hours ago. A grim look overcame his features. The snake would have towait. Refocusing on the prone figure on his bed, he decided he had other matters to attend to first.

The spilled laundry basket and clothesline still lying on the floor in the hall caught his eye and he remembered seeing herjust that morning, hanging the laundry. Black eyes darkened imperceptibly as he decided that she wouldn't be doing _anything _without his presence from now on.She'd lost that privilege.

Settling back and crossing his arms, Sasuke waited.

_I toss and turn, I can't sleep at night_

Sakura felt as if she'd been deconstructed molecule by molecule and shoved back together carelessly. Her entire body felt like a collection of mismatched, jagged edges forced to fit against one and other. A pained groan pulled from her as she opened her eyes and took in her surroundings. Blank, grey walls stared back at her. The heavy warmth that surrounded her was a spring blanket. She was back in Sasuke's room.

The thought rebounded in her mind for only a millisecond before she forced herself into motion. She didn't even make it to the door.

A hard body pinned her firmly, face-first against the wall and hot breath made her hair stand on end. A low voice rumbled into her ear, "Did you really think you'd get away from me?" Sakura's head had been forced to turn to avoid cracking her chin and she tried in vain to glare at him over her shoulder. When he pressed more tightly against her, awaiting ananswer, she trilled, "I thought so, yes."

Even his next breath sounded furious. He twisted one of her captured hands up, tearing away a bandage and forcing it into her face. "Do you know what this is?"

The hand was so close that it hurt her eyes to focus on the cut she saw there. Angry red welts rose on either side of the abrasion and were resistant to her instinctual attempt to heal them. Blinking to rid herself of the strain, she replied, "A chakra burn? Wha--"

She could feeling him laughing against her back when he said, "Not a chakra burn like you're used to. This one's not from overexertion. Think about it, Sakura."

Possibilities swirled in her mind as she put the pieces together. The burn, the fact she wasn't dead despite her overload... "You have something that absorbs chakra."

Pressing a kiss into her nape, he hissed, "Right in one." Sakura jerked her head in spite, though she could go no where.The shinobi just laughed again and added, "Now that you know that, I'll let you in on what that means to you." Spinning the trapped kunoichi so he could stare her down, Sasuke growled, "I'm going to keep your level so low you can barely walk. You won't go outside. You won't even leave this room."

Pressing his forehead against hers in a mockery of an affectionate gesture, he finished, "You should have listened to me Sakura. Now you're going to be sorry."

_Tainted love, tainted love..._

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**Still a little short, but it's a necessary chapter to lead up to what's coming.:3 Updates will bemore frequent thisweek, since it's the last one before my Spring Break starts. SWEET FREEDOM! XD Expect another post by, say...Wednesday. **

**Sorry for any smushed-together words. The 'Documents' feature is being strange!**

**Thanks for reading and please review! **

**Lyricsfrom **_Tainted Love _**by** Soft Cell **NOT MINE**


	7. Crystalline

**Crystalline**

_Too many times people have tried to look inside of me_

Sakura couldn't decide if she was terrified or relieved. She was alive, which was more than she'd hoped for when she'd passed out, but she had a furious Sasuke less than an inch from her face. And he was more or less promising to make her an invalid. The half inch she managed to slide back in an attempt to give herself room was quickly erased by the shinobi who pressed her until they were pressed sealed from chest to hip.

The rough grain of the wall behind her was scraping the tender skin at the base of Sakura's back. Her wrists were throbbing dully at their lack of circulation in Sasuke's tight grip and her eyes were locked onto his. Red insanity swirled back at her and she felt desperate. Desperate to see the boy she knew, not the twisted man he'd made himself. A quick glance at his shoulder told her that the seal was still spreading over his body. Kakashi-sensei's attempt at caging the power had been ineffective. He was as unpredictable as one of Tenten's bombs. Green eyes swam as a cruel smirk bored into her and she wondered if anything would be able to bring him back.

She knew that he still retained a rational side. He was the calm, coolly collected shinobi that she'd spoken to when she'd prepared dinner. The pinkette also knew too well the beast that surfaced when the curse took control. Violence and blood trailed in _that_ creature's wake.

An involuntary shiver ran down her spine as Sasuke trailed his nose along her cheekbone, crooning her name. The sharp bite of a blade at her side made her eyes snap wide.

_You think having the upperhand means you gotta keep putting me down_

Sasuke's irrational half watched with fascination as the shine drained out of the petite girl's eyes. From his intimate position, eyes staring straight into hers so closely he could hardly focus, he could see every emotion that flitted across her expressive orbs. She was fearful and surprised and something he couldn't describe. The blade in his hand pulsed as more and more energy poured into its malevolent form. He felt the pinkette begin to sag heavily against the wall he was pinning her to and checked her chakra levels. She was almost where he wanted her. After another moment, he reigned in the power of the dagger and tucked the stained blade carelessly into a holster at his back.

As he slowly stepped back and gathered Sakura's boneless body the beast drained away. Onyx eyes darkened when they met the sad, grey-green of the kunoichi's. She was so drained that even her eyes were at half mast. An angry welt was rising steadily on the delicate skin at her hip, though the blood flow was minimal. The stoic line of his mouth tightened as he carefully settled the kunoichi onto his messy bed once more. She looked so painfully small and fragile against the dark backdrop that he couldn't stand to see it any longer. A flash-step and he was on the porch outside the bedroom, hands buried knuckle deep in his hair. He gave a sharp tug to the short locks and slowly exhaled, returning his arms to his sides.

He couldn't handle himself around Sakura. He couldn't control himself when he was apart from her. He felt like he was flying apart at the seams. A faint buzzing in his ears distracted him and an ache bloomed behind his eyes. Anger shadowed his face as he realized what was coming. That snake bastard. The startling whiteness of Orochimaru's favorite torture meathod didn't surprise him as he distantly heard his body fall to the wooden floor of the porch.

_Wondering what I think of you_

The pale, pale grey of the walls reminded Sakura of stormy skies. As her mind floated aimlessly with exhaustion, she came to another realization. Thunderstorms reminded her of Sasuke. Her brow crumpled at the analogy until she analyzed the random thought. A memory of the day before, when he'd...kissed her floated to the forefront of her mind. He had slivers of grey embedded in his irises. They weren't the void of black that they at first seemed. Instead, they were like a slab of abyssal stone shot though with veins of metal. They fit him perfectly and reminded her of lightening strikes. Absently, she assumed that was why he reminded her of stormy skies. Or maybe it was his turbulent personality.

Her dilated, half-closed eyes fell shut as she laughed to herself. Turbulent? He was borderline insane. Since she'd seen him he'd crushed her wrist, attacked her multiple times and viciously chased her down. Now she was confined to a bed. The soft mattress dredged up still frames of the night she'd spent with Sasuke. His caresses and kisses. A deep breath inflated her chest as her mind wandered back. Bitterness welled on her tongue as she remembered the way the moment had ended. He had walked away from her in a rage over her ring. He'd assumed the worst and punished her for it. A sigh escaped her as she saw the pattern they'd fallen into.

A wry smile danced across her lips. If you'd asked her a few years earlier, she would've been ecstatic to be involved with Sasuke-kun, no matter how toxic the situation may be. She found now that the full force of his attention on her was almost stifling, blinding. Like staring into the raw power of the thunderstorms that reminded her of him. Even as the disadvantages stacked in her mind, she knew she still cared for him. She had what she always wanted, now she just wondered if she would be able to save the man she still reluctantly loved.

Low humming filtered into her ears and she thought for a moment that she was drifting to sleep. However, the white oblivion that met her was nothing like anything she'd ever dreamt.

It was a nightmare.

_I've had too many standoffs with you_

Something was different about the room. Sasuke knew the moment he opened his eyes to the white insanity he expected. Running dark eyes critically over his surroundings, the shinobi pinpointed the anomaly. One of the walls seemed strange. The Uchiha stood and made his way toward it, trying to decide just what made him so sure that this was the source of the strange, muted aura he was detecting.

Everything was still a sterile, maddening white...it was as if there were a suggestion of color. Or perhaps his mind was projecting something. Narrowing his eyes, Sasuke pondered what the occurrence could be. He blinked slowly, trying to cleanse his vision. But there was still a faint, almost invisible chakra reading behind the wall he was staring at. An emerald green glow winked back at him, he was sure of it.

Rather than waiting any longer, he pressed a palm against the barrier and retracted the other, ready to blow the wall away. Before he could release a blast, he paused. He had no idea where Sakura, if it were her, was on the other side. The flying debris would do massive damage if she wasn't prepared. A frown fell over his face. He wasn't sure there was another way to combat this sort of genjutsu, aside from brute force. Allowing his clenched, prepared fist to fall to his side, he instead pressed his ear to the stark surface under his opposite palm. He could hear a quiet, distant pattern of breathing in the otherwise oppressive silence of the cell.

Drawing his head away, he pounded on the wall and called, "Sakura." When there was no change in the breathing, he battered the barrier again, still refusing to raise his voice. His hands were red and sore when he finally heard a hitch followed by a faint, "Sasuke?"

A smirk danced over his features as he intoned, "Sakura, stand back." The white wall was obliterated a moment later, leaving behind only pale smoke and chunks of stone and other material. Striding into the extended space, the shinobi easily locked on to the crouched form of Sakura.

Bright green eyes in a plaster-dusted face were still imprinted on his eyes when a wave of memories knocked him from his feet.

_It's about as much as I can stand_

Sakura woke to a blindingly white room. Even as she sat up, surprised at how energized she felt so soon after being drained, pieces began to fall into place in her mind. Genjutsu. The facts of what had happened recently to her and her current environment and condition didn't line up. That was a typical calling card for an illusion. Green eyes creased a little as she recalled something had pulled her from--

Before she could even complete the thought, a muffled pounding came again from the wall behind her. Climbing to her feet, the pinkette began to lay her head against it in an attempt to find out what the sound was when a voice startled her. She blinked and replayed the noise in her mind. It sounded like her name. Only one person whom she was on a first-name basis with was nearby. A bit hesitantly, she shouted, "Sasuke?"

She could only faintly hear an order to stand back. Instinct took over when she saw the barrier between herself and the shinobi bow outward almost whimsically before it shattered. By the time the remains began to rain down, she was crouched against the far wall, her arms braced over her head and neck. Sakura glanced up just in time to see Sasuke step into the room before his eyes rolled back and he dropped suddenly to his knees.

The pinkette was at his side in an instant. It was as if an electric current flowed through him when her hand contacted the plane of his cheek. Red eyes snapped open and she was tossed viciously from his fallen form. A low snarl reverberated through the room as he stood, prowling toward her with a predator's intent. Sakura rose to her feet slowly, her back pressed tightly to the wall behind her. Fear and sadness gripped her as she watched the curse flood over his skin. This was the fastest she'd ever seen it spread. Frantically, she studied his features. She couldn't see any traces of sanity in his feral eyes as he stalked toward her.

Tears were wetting her flushed face, making her voice watery as she warbled, "Sasuke? Please, I--" She was silenced as he crushed his hard body against her trembling one. Hot breath moistened the junction of her neck and shoulder as he craned down to press his face there. Sharp canines skimmed her pulse point before he spoke. "You distract me." A wet kiss was pressed behind her ear before he continued in a guttural whisper, "Those eyes. Your _body_. That tiny little waist. From your pretty little neck to your long, silky legs..." Rough hands roamed over the areas as they were named. When one bunched in the hair at the nape of her neck as another strayed up her inner thigh, she broke. A sob tore from the trapped kunoichi's throat as she repeated "No, Sasuke-kun, NO!" in an endless mantra. A dark, mad chuckle fell from the beast's lips. "I'm not your _Sasuke-kun_."

_So I'm waiting until the upperhand is mine_

"Otokage?"

A slither of scales and, "Yes?"

Pushing his glasses a little further up his nose, Kabuto reported, "The Uchiha has returned from his mission, which was successful. However, rather than reporting here, he headed straight to his home in the Village." A strange smile spread across his face as he asked, "Should disciplinary action be taken against the girl as well?"

A thin, pale hand tapped against the arm of his chair as Orochimaru weighed his options. At last, "Yes." When Kabuto made to turn and leave, he called to the medic-nin, "But...wait until he isn't present. Oh, and Kabuto? Make sure you send someone subtle. I don't want to loose a nin every time she's punished." Nodding, the white-haired man continued out the door of the Otokage's office.

Five minutes later, Kabuto had reached the dojo and another moment later, he'd located the man he wanted to assign. Striding forward, he addressed the man. "You have a mission." He passed the sinister-looking, gaunt man a thin scroll. "This is the genjutsu you're to use. It's Otokage-sama's personal favorite for the targets." As the shinobi nodded and made to depart, Kabuto called, "If you're caught, don't expect to survive." There was a slight stiffening of the Jounin's spine before he nodded and departed, en route to his assignment. To the Uchiha's residence.

Surrounding shinobi and kunoichi alike parted to let the medical ninja pass by unhindered. The tone the med-nin used was kind enough, but the small chuckle he uttered at the other man's response that conveyed his delight. It was obvious that the white haired man was genuinely pleased by the other ninja's fear. Even the most elite of Hidden Sound's ranks knew better than to cross the Otokage's right hand.

Kabuto adjusted his glasses again and made his way back toward the Otokage's office. His work was done.

_One minute you're on top_

Sakura could hardly breathe. A hard chest was pressing her so hard to the wall behind her that she could hardly get air to her lungs. Even when she managed to gasp in oxygen, it was pulled from her by a heavy sob. Her face felt strangely numb with the force of her tears and fright and she just _couldn't process what was happening_. A thickly calloused palm pressed insistently at the top of her inner thigh and she thought she would be sick. Sasuke was...She couldn't finish her thought. _I'm not your Sasuke-kun. I'm __**not**__ your Sasuke-kun. I'm not your Sasuke-kun! _

The words echoed in her head, spinning and whirling until her eyes squeezed shut with the gravity of the whole situation. The man she'd loved was gone, obliterated by a curse. A new gale of tears crested in her chest at the realization. Glassy green eyes flickered open and bored into bloody red ones. She was sure that there was nothing left. So sure.

A long, slender finger found the elastic band of her panties and she whimpered. The proud kunoichi couldn't even draw enough breath for a scream. Her eyes were still locked on his when it happened and she saw a flicker of black at the sound. Shock and hope made her large eyes round. With the remainder of her strength, she raised one hand and pressed it to his seal.

She could feel the snarl that ruptured in his chest, felt it haze over the bridge of her nose. As the finger traced the muscle that linked her thigh to her pelvis, she bit her lip and gasped reedily, "Sasu..ke-kun?"

Red melted away so quickly she could hardly tell it had been there at all. Shocked black stared back at her for an instant before she felt herself falling. As her bottom contacted the ground, she slumped to the white, white floor and purged every tear in her body.

_The next you're not_

Her face was red and raw from crying when she finally calmed herself enough to wonder where he'd gone. Pressing her forearms against the harsh, tear-soaked floor and finally raising her head from her arms, Sakura cautiously scanned the room. Her heart stopped when she found him. Sasuke was sitting in the opposite room, against the far wall and watching her with something akin to morbid fascination. Her involuntary flinch made his eyes narrow. The fact that she scrambled back when he stood made him growl a little to himself. The sound made her bury her face in her arms again.

A steady hand on her shoulder blade made her jump. The squeak that escaped her throat inspired a deeper frown on the shinobi's otherwise tight expression. When the hand shifted, pulling at her wrist until her face was revealed, Sakura gasped, "Please!" The tugging ceased and she attempted to pull her limb away as she whispered shakily, "Don't...don't touch-"

The grip tightened exponentially. A raspy voice, loaded with an emotion she couldn't pin down sounded. "Sakura." When she didn't respond, he pulled at her wrist. "Look at me." A hiss of sliding fabric on fabric and another hand caught her chin. Flickering open her darkened green eyes, the kunoichi asked simply, "Why?"

Sasuke's features blanked and his hands fell away. After a moment of silence, she asked again. This time, he spoke slowly at first, "What do you want to hear, Sakura? Why did I take you away from Konoha? Why can't I go back? What am I doing in Sound? Why this genjutsu?" At the mention of the illusion, he rocked back on his heels and chuckled cynically. "He really likes to use this one." He made a show of studying the stark walls. "Usually he locks me in that tiny little white room till my sanity is fucking non-existent. Or until the curse breaks free and I-" He must have noticed her shaking her head. At this, he swooped forward, and hissed, "You want to know why I..._touched_ you the way I just did?"

_Watch it drop_

Tears began to course down the pinkette's face once more. Sasuke pressed his pointer finger to one of the wet-slicked lines. Gazing at the moisture at his finger with something indescribable, he began in a low tone, "Every time I see you die. In a million different fucking ways!" He ended in a snarl and pounded his fist into the wall next to Sakura's ear. Her shaking was painfully visible as he railed, "But you don't want to hear that shit, Sakura! You don't! You just want to hear that I regret leaving Leaf!" He sprung away from the terrified girl, standing and pacing a ways before her crumpled form. At length, he growled, "And I do! I do so much that I hate myself! I hate that I'm STILL so FUCKING weak!"

Her sobs rang in his ears as he pulled at his dark hair, his muscles were tensing with the sound. He didn't want to scream at her, he didn't. There was just a pressure in his head, driving him, pushing him towards the brink. He was breaking. Cracking. And her sobs were only expediting things. He had to get himself under control. He'd already said too much.

He was striding toward her once more, ready to demand she _stop crying_ when he saw the first scarlet bloom of blood begin to pour from her forearm. Sasuke froze in his tracks. She didn't have any weapons. He hadn't touched her. The long gash had simply appeared. Memories of more violent punishments flooded into his head. Ones geared at breaking down the mind through torture of the body. A seething curse erupted from him as he sped to Sakura's side.

Orochimaru's originally mentally abusive genjutsu had just taken a very violent turn.

_Making your heart stop._

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**WOO! IT'S DONE! THIS CHAPTER WAS NEARLY THE DEATH OF ME. :3 Next chapter is projected for Thursday. **

**THANK YOU TO EVERYONE FOR THE KIND PMS AND MESSAGES ABOUT THE PLAGIARISM INCIDENT, THEY WERE VERY MUCH APPRECIATED! THANKFULLY THE ISSUE WAS RESOLVED PROMPTLY. **

**Lyrics: **_Hit the Floor_ **by **Linkin Park **(NOT MINE)**

**Thank you for reading and please review! **


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